HELENA -- Two weeks after a windstorm toppled a large tree at the Helena Civic Center, the city's urban forestry division chose to remove another large tree for safety reasons.
Chris Daly, the Supervisor for the Urban Forestry Division, said the decision to remove the tree was one that was discussed at great length. The reason the city chose to remove the tree was that if it fell, it could cause delays in emergency response times given it would likely block a fire station driveway.
"When the first one failed and fell down, it changed the wind profile on the second tree, and the second tree was not in good health to begin with," said Daly. "With the fire department's driveway being right there, that elevated risk of that second tree blocking emergency services was just an unacceptable risk."
Daly also noted while they've removed the tree, they're looking at replacing both the one they cut down, and the one that fell during the Jan. 13 storm.
"We're in the process of looking for some bigger replacements, just to provide a positive impact, and looking at putting a couple more spruce trees in there. hopefully on the Civic Center's 100th birthday," said Daly.
