Big blow, how different would things be today??

[MattyF]

I don't think we will ever see that devastation again ... Simply because we have cut a very big majority of all possible failing trees down that are on streets or around property...everything is better managed mapped and monitored .. Are industry was promoted and grown 100 times bigger as a direct result if the 87 storm and people's and insurance company's paranoia of falling trees... I'm not saying there will not be failures but I can't see it being like that at all.

[mattinman1990]

I don't think we will ever see that devastation again ... Simply because we have cut a very big majority of all possible failing trees down that are on streets or around property...everything is better managed mapped and monitored .. Are industry was promoted and grown 100 times bigger as a direct result if the 87 storm and people's and insurance company's paranoia of falling trees... I'm not saying there will not be failures but I can't see it being like that at all.

 

A green with that

 

 

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[Andy Collins]

The 87 storm made a couple of local companies what they became later. It set them up. Storm damage, resulting in insurance claims will result in pro teams getting some good work, and overtime for rail and electrical tree teams will be good. I wonder about the weekend warrior types, with the emphasis on H&S, ppe and so on more and more drummed into people, will there be more of a hesitation or this type to "get out there"?

[mattinman1990]

A green with that

 

 

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Agreed* with that

 

 

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[treequip]

I don't think we will ever see that devastation again ... Simply because we have cut a very big majority of all possible failing trees down that are on streets or around property...everything is better managed mapped and monitored .. Are industry was promoted and grown 100 times bigger as a direct result if the 87 storm and people's and insurance company's paranoia of falling trees... I'm not saying there will not be failures but I can't see it being like that at all.

 

I dunno about that.

 

A lot of trees have been steadily becoming candidates for falling over in the last decade or so and as far as the insurers go subsidence is the main worry in that camp.

 

I agree that some places trees are better managed but its the minority and some of the stuff that snapped in the last blow was completely unpredictable, if we managed our tree population with an event like this in mind we would be in shrub city.

[Riggerbear]

I don't think we will ever see that devastation again ... Simply because we have cut a very big majority of all possible failing trees down that are on streets or around property...everything is better managed mapped and monitored .. Are industry was promoted and grown 100 times bigger as a direct result if the 87 storm and people's and insurance company's paranoia of falling trees... I'm not saying there will not be failures but I can't see it being like that at all.

 

Your exactly right Matty, back then there wasn't anywhere near the sort of tree maintenance, inspection and numbers of tree contractors that there is now. I worked for a local authority in London and it was from the 87 storm and the the Jan 90 blow that the modern tree inspection system was started in that particular borough.

[matthawh1966]

I worked for the local auth in 87 i was,nt qualified then but still a part of one of the tree teams doing carrying and draging . We were out 48 hrs straight and got paid f all for it, i think time and a half and a day of, but the sub contractors came out of the woodwork and earnt a fortune, and half of them never had tickets or ppe, one of them was mentally below par . We did all the hard dangerous work ,while they cleared all the easy stuff. I would like to think times have changed, and if the storm is as bad as they say, i hope the good guys earn the good money.

[gensetsteve]

H&S is nothing to do with safety its a paperwork excercise to pass the buck further down the line. When the large organisation grinds to a halt it goes straight out the window. When I carry out routine service work need to book in 48 hrs before with rems normally plus 16 pages for a 1 hour service. Next week bet I dont fill anything out lights go out generator engineer goes in. Stay safe and watch out for your selves dont rely on the pen pushers they will be in melt down if it happens again.

[ben lightfoot]

I think another thing to consider is how could this affect pest, disease and fungal spores this time of year? Some interesting points of view too. I think it's a bit sad and naive of people to hope for storms like 87. Possible short term gain but not long term IMO.

[MattyF]

if we managed our tree population with an event like this in mind we would be in shrub city.

 

That is exactly though what we have become or are going in comparison to the tree stock we did have.