Responsibility for fallen trees is in the details

The tree that stood across the street from the Edkinses' house came crashing into their Radnor yard during the ice storm.

The power went out. They got a generator, and the Edkinses prepared themselves for the days ahead. Responsibility for the tree, luckily, was not an issue.

"We talked to [our neighbors] ahead of time, and we said that since it was shared . . . we would just split" any cost of removal, said Christine Edkins. "When it happened, everybody came out, because everyone is so close."

The Edkinses called local tree services and learned the cleanup would cost at least $700. A township crew came by, though, and did most of the cutting to open up the road, leaving behind a much smaller pile of tree debris to clean up.

"I imagine it could have been $1,000-plus," Edkins said. "We were very, very fortunate that [the tree] didn't hit the house."

Nearby the Edkinses' home, a different set of neighbors was brought together against their will.

"Yeah," said a woman on Beechtree Lane, who was concerned about offending a neighbor and declined to give her name.

She indicated that she would pay for removal if one of her trees fell on a neighbor's property. During the storm, her neighbor's tree fell across the street onto her driveway.

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Responsibility for fallen trees is in the details