Continued Ike Clean Up

There has been a little bit of a stir in Galveston about the Live Oak trees that died after the salt water flooded the island during Hurricane Ike. The city has begun cutting down all the trees that appear to be dead on the city streets. There is an estimated 11,000 trees destroyed on city property and 30,000 on private property. Rumor has it that these trees take years to recover from such stresses, so many of them may still be alive.

It is sad that these trees are all being removed, but many of them have been deemed dangerous. In the event that another hurricane or just a storm with high winds were to hit Galveston, any dead trees would pose a falling threat to anyone within their falling radius. That generally includes the city stree, sidewalk and in most cases a house or two.

Some owners have taken matters into their own hands and protested that the tree removal is murder. I'm not sure what I think, as there are important points to both sides. It looks like some of the trees may be replaced if the funds are raised. The Live Oaks really do give Galveston Island it's personality. Not to mention that they disguise some of the less attractive parts of town.