Killer Trees

The storm that refuses to die had its way with Metro Atlanta last night and early this morning.   We lost three of our citizens last night when they were fatally injured by falling trees.  The wind howled and the rain pummeled the parched ground so fast that many cars in certain low areas of the city found themselves windshield deep in water with nowhere to flow.

I have lived in Atlanta for more than 18 years now.  We have our issues here; growing violent crime and gang activity, rampant  homelessness, a weaker than average economy in an era of weak economies, and strange weather patterns that are tending to swing from extreme cold to extreme heat.  None of those cause me as much fear as the thick canopy of towering trees that shade our strikingly beautiful neighborhoods.

 

This century old oak dwarfs my car and stands guard outside my front door.  It is roughly 14 feet in circumference and 60 feet tall.

From National Geographic:  "For a sprawling city with the nation’s ninth-largest metro area, Atlanta is surprisingly lush with trees—magnolias,dogwoods, Southern pines, and magnificent oaks."

Current estimates state that Atlanta’s tree coverage stands at 36%, the highest for all major cities in the country.  Without this canopy, the relentless summertime heat would be beyond bearable and our ever-growing smog would choke us all to death.

 This elegant elm stands the same 60 feet tall directly opposite the oak pictured above.  Oaks to the right of me, elms to the left...

But here’s the rub.  In 1974 the tree canopy sat at roughly 48%.  Since then there has been an assault on the canopy from heavy rains, drought, aged forests, new pests, and urban construction.  The trees that are left standing have been significantly weakened from these assaults, making them far more likely to have roots more shallow than they should be to carry the massive weight and limbs less able to support themselves without snapping spontaneously, wind or no wind.

It is impossible to walk outside my door without passing under a giant tree, much less walk the neighborhood without concern.  Yesterday afternoon two 61-year-old best friends were heading home from work in a Mazda Miata, one of those spiffy little two-seat convertibles.  Reports say there was a loud snap before a huge old tree fell squarely on their car, killing them both instantly.

A 19-year-old was in his driveway last evening attempting to clear a fallen tree that was blocking access to the garage when he was struck and killed instantly by a second tree. 

My dog and I have been walking in the neighborhood on a bright sunny day, turn a corner and encounter a twenty-foot-long dead tree limb blocking the sidewalk.  When did that happen?  Was it just seconds before we turned the corner?  What if I hadn’t allowed Coqui to sniff around that bush for as long as I did? 

Men like to joke about how unpredictable we women can be.  I’m pretty sure it was a man who assigned the female gender to Mother Nature for exactly the same reason.  It is certainly true that for every thing of great beauty and utility we have been given, there is a dangerous side of it that can be equally profound.   It is the way of the world.

So, yes, I stay home when there is a threat of wind and rain, if I can.  But when I can’t I strive to shelve my apprehension and surrender to the cosmos.  Que será sera.

 Photos by L