Storm Clean Continues Around Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, NC — “Every time they take one log off, something else falls off, so am just gradually watching my house fall apart,” said Plaza Midwood homeowner Mike Gershowitz.

Mike Gershowitz wasn’t home when a tree fell on his Plaza Midwood home, but he’s been dealing with the aftermath every since. Because the tree is on city property, they take care of the stump. But if it falls on top of your house, that’s the homeowner’s responsibility to pay to get it removed.

“The tree alone, probably anywhere from $12,000 to $15,000 alone just to get the tree off the house itself,” said Gershowitz.

City crews are working around the clock off of Sharon Amtiy in East Charlotte, where a tree blocked the roadway.

“We’ve been extremely busy. We’ve just begun the cleanup process,” said City Landscaping worker Michael Mann.

Interim City Arborist Tim Porter says they’ve had about 150 calls to downed trees over the past two days.

“Right now we’re still considering ourselves in the storm event. We received about 20 calls in last 24 hours, including 12 this morning,” said Porter.

Most important, Porter says, is to make a clear path in the streets for emergency vehicles to get through.

“We’re not going to do the private tree itself, but we’re going to clear the city’s portion of the right away, which is the street ’til where the edge of right away joins their property,” said Mann

Though Gershowitz says the mess is an inconvenience, fortunately no one was hurt.

“The girl that actually rents a room, the tree went through her room. She actually, fortunately, wasn’t here at the time,” said Gershowitz.

If you have any downed trees or debris near your home that falls on any right away or city streets, call 311 for them to come clean it up.