Trees Killed by Drought Pose Fire Risk
Trees killed by last year's drought are now a fire hazard. Photo by Alex White, flickr.com/alexwhite.By Chip Skambis
Central Texas trees are still feeling the burn from last year’s historic drought.
Bob Rose, chief meteorologist with the Lower Colorado River Authority, said many trees were stressed during the drought, and they weren’t able to recover even given the wet winter season.
“Unless we get into a wetter pattern here very soon,” Rose said, “a lot of these trees and even vegetation around the area are going to start to die.”
Jim Rooni with the Texas Forest Service says dead trees could pose a fire risk if homeowners and caretakers don’t clean them up.
“People are so distracted now because they’re trying to recover from the fires,” Rooni said. “They may have good intentions, but they just have so much on their plate. They mean to get to these trees but they tend to be low on the priority list.”
Homeowners are liable for damages if one of their trees falls on someone else’s property. Rooni says if a tree has yet to sprout green leaves this summer, it’s probably dead.
