Twin Cites metro area residents continue clean-up following severe storms

EDINA, Minn. — Lightning was far from the only thing hitting the ground during Tuesday morning’s storms. Thousands of trees toppled across the Twin Cities metro area.
“I’ve got a garden over here and a zip line going down this tree,” Edina resident Scott Thorpe said.
Thorpe has put a lot of work into his backyard since he moved in two years ago. But the project of cleaning up a massive tree that split was not his idea.    “It’s kinda a mess,” Thorpe said.
Like many in his Edina neighborhood, the whipping winds woke him up early in the morning. 
“It was loud. I think branches were hitting the windows or not because these trees lost a few branches,” he said.
Residents in Eden Prairie, Bloomington and other surrounding cities lost big trees too. To help with clean-up efforts, the City of Eden Prairie will open its yard waste site to residents on Wednesday.
Dwight Hammons, a certified arborist with Easy Tree Service, told WCCO that the wet summer has saturated the root systems of some trees and caused large, heavy tree canopies, which can make some trees unstable during storms. 
“Less severe storms could cause more damage because there’s already been damage done to the trees,” Hammons said.
Back in Edina, Thorpe’s family may have lost their hanging swing in the storm, but they’re still looking on the bright side. 
“You gotta stay positive. And I got free firewood. Might take a year to dry but I got it,” he said.   
The Hernandez family of Richfield awoke on Tuesday morning to a huge boulevard tree on top of their car, which they bought earlier this year. City crews came quickly to clean it up.
So, who is responsible when a force of nature causes damage like this? Troy Thompson, an insurance agent based in Coon Rapids, says determining the burden can get tricky. It all depends on where the tree lands.
If a city tree falls on your street, the city cleans it up. But if a neighbor’s or city’s tree lands on your house, it’s your problem and the financial burden falls on you.
Thompson says it may not be worth calling in a claim for tree damage if it’s a few thousand dollars or less. He says making a claim will likely cause your rates to rise.