GREENSBORO, N.C. — Duke Energy said the leading cause of power outages in our state is due to fallen limbs or trees onto power lines.
Experts said in order to prevent situations like this people should take action now.
Limbs are being removed ahead of storms rolling through this weekend
“Most of the time when a storm comes through what it’s going to do is it’s going to attack the weaker trees and the weaker limbs,” co-owner Dalton Dillon said.
Every single day, Dillon Tree Service is out in the triad.
Cutting down trees and limbs in order to prevent outages, damage and even injury.
“We do quite a bit of storm work. Honestly, a lot of our work comes from people who may have seen a tree fall in their neighborhood or on their normal route to and from work and what it does is it worries them," Dillon said.
He said it is important to take precautions now, ahead of the winter months as well as Hurricane Ian making its way to the United States.
“Due to its track it could bring that weather up through the Carolinas and we’ve seen this before...we’ve seen storms that don’t hit us directly that still cause a lot of damage, a lot of wind, and a lot of rain," Jeff Brooks with Duke Energy said.
Duke Energy said wind and rain can cause weak trees, to fall on power lines causing an outage.
"Trees are one of the biggest causes of power outages in our system and that’s why we have to trim them year-round because if we didn’t, we’d see even more outages, so that’s a big focus for us as utilities," Brooks said.
He said Duke Energy is working to make sure they are being proactive.
“Look down, look up, if all of the leaves are falling off but they are not falling off any of the other trees that’s an obvious sign the tree is under stress there may be something wrong or if it’s dropping lots of branches that’s definitely something you need to keep an eye on," Dillon said. "Also, look at the ground is the ground around the trees are starting to pull up you may have an issue where the trees starting to uproot."
Duke Energy and Dillon Tree Service said they’ve seen an increase in calls the last few days ahead of this storm. Both said it is important to call a licensed professional to remove any unwanted or potentially dangerous trees or limbs.
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