Westchester Works To Prevent Tree Damage Ahead Of Storm

NEW YORK (CBS 2) -- In northern Westchester they were already preparing for the coming storm Thursday. Arborists from Chappaqua's Westchester Tree life were trying to secure a majestic oak from what promised to be fierce winds, CBS 2HD's John Metaxas reports.

Nancy Laun said she'll never forget the frightening sound of the massive tree that hit her house last year, causing $30,000 worth of damage in one second.

"First you hear a giant crack, and then a boom, and then breaking glass," the Chappaqua resident said. "It was very scary because I was in the house."

It seems there's been an epidemic of tree-trashing wind storms lately, from the tornado that hit Queens in September, a falling tree killing a woman on the Grand Central Parkway, to the devastation that tore through a Katonah neighborhood in July.

The most vulnerable trees, said arborist Bob d'Ambrosio were those with v-shaped crotches. One developed the split just one day ago, necessitating Thursday's emergency procedure ahead of the storm.

After the arborists complete drilling a hole through the massive trunk, they were going to insert a 6-foot-long threaded rod to keep the split together.

"This could do a lot of damage in a very short amount of time," Laun said.