BOZEMAN — The first snowfall of the season makes for pretty colors but Bozeman residents are beginning the cleanup process after heavy wet snow damaged many trees around town.
“I was putting out some prayers for a little bit of snow-I think I over did it,” says Gary Colstad, Superintendent of Valley View Golf Course.
Colstad got more than he bargained for on Monday morning when the road leading to Valley View Golf Club was blocked by down trees.
“When I watched it snow all days yesterday and I kind of figured we’d have a tough look out here,” says Colstad.
But the snow he asked for may have been done too much damage to the trees around the golf course.
“We tried to get down our maintenance road this morning so I had Curtis come over and start whacking his way down,” says Colstad.
Arborists and city crews have been working since Sunday picking up the damage
“We will put in like 16 hours-I mean if we have enough light we can safely work,” says Curtis Flesch, Arborist and Co-owner of Bozeman Arbor Care.
The streets of Bozeman, especially around campus and downtown, were littered with tree limbs.
“This is probably the worst storm I've been here five years,” says Alex Nordquest, Forestry Division Manager, for Bozeman.
“We had a few trees that fell on a house,” says Flesch,
For Curtis and his crew, the first snow always seems to pack in the most working hours for them.
“ it seems like every October we get this storm so were used to it,” says Flesch.
Tree limbs lie on top of cars, sidewalks and roads. Residents worked Monday to start cleaning up.
“We had damage throughout the city, we’ve mostly been working in the core area,” says Nordquest.
The city says if you have a tree in the public right-of-way like this one you can reach out to them for help cleaning up. For trees on private property, you can go to the convivence site or reach out to a private arborist.
To report a broken tree limbs call 406-582-3225 or email anordquest@bozeman.net
