From the “Things That Shouldn’t Need To Be Said But Really Really Are” department:
Maybe leave it to an expert
People in the Houston area eager to dig out of the damage wrought by Hurricane Beryl already have a list of challenges facing them: near-record heat, humidity, lack of power or internet and obstacles on or near roadways that were in the storm’s path.
Safety experts are asking people with uprooted or damaged trees to avoid adding to that list by knowing the ins and outs of a subject especially important in the aftermath of a storm: chainsaw safety.
“We know how dangerous they can be. And it is something that should be not taken lightly: using a chainsaw,” Jordan Herrin, the regional forester for Texas A&M Forest Service, told the Texas Newsroom. “Know your limits, know your skill level, and do what’s safe. There’s so much that can be unsafe after a major disaster like a hurricane.”
As crews of professionals are working steadily to clear roadways and repair power lines, some do-it-yourself Texans are taking to their own yards to clean up whatever debris they can. Herrin said sometimes there can be more than meets the eye when taking on that task.
“Trees, vegetation [and] you mix in power lines – they all get put into really, weird binds,” he said. “And so, it doesn’t normally act like just cutting down a tree or maybe cutting up some branches. There are new forces at play.”
Tens of thousands of people are injured using chainsaws every year, and the risk tends to increase after natural disasters, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The total includes 36,000 people per year who require a chainsaw-related visit to the emergency room.
Herrin urges Texans intent on cleaning up what they can to heed advice from the forest service, whose websites includes a rundown of safety tips for new and experienced users. Tips include everything from wearing protective gear to having a pre-planned escape route clear in case of an emergency. People should also keep in mind that not all yards and trees are the same.
“Just because your neighbors were able to easily remove a tree doesn’t mean you are,” he said. “Just thinking before you act is probably the single best step that you can take right now.”
Back in college I remember hearing a fellow student, a jock type from a small rural town, tell of a little chainsaw incident he was involved in that resulted in an injury to his arm. His response was to hop in his pickup truck and drive to the hair salon his mom owned to ask her for assistance. My naive New York-raised brain doesn’t remember how it all ended, but he obviously lived to tell the tale and still had both his arms attached, albeit with a visible scar on one of them, so it all worked out in the end. Maybe try to avoid putting yourself in a similar situation, that’s the lesson I’m taking from this.
As one who has dealt with plenty of dropped limbs, I can tell you that the half broken dangling one are the absolute worst. You try to gauge how they will fall when you cut enough away for gravity to take hold, but they can and do surprise you. Some I have judged to be within my capabilities to deal with, and so far so good. Others were obviously for the pros, and even they can have a close call. The last time I called them out for a dangerous big limb, I saw one of them get bowled over when it shifted in a direction they weren’t expecting at the end of the cut. Alarming but fortunately no one was hurt.