KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With the number of downed and damaged trees, we're not out of the woods yet when it comes to storm cleanup in the metro area.
Carol Rogers is concerned about the power lines that run through an easement in her backyard.
"You see there are two lines," she said, pointing upward at a series of cables. "There are lines way high up too, even those have trees going through them right now."
Those lines high in the sky bring electrical power to her home.
"If that thing falls over, it's gonna take that line down, no two ways about it," she said.
She's not buying the line that enough trimming and cleanup work is being done by Evergy to prevent cluttered lines from being knocked down by tree limbs in stormy weather.
"Because they were saying, 'This is such a terrible storm, this never happens. And I'm thinking, 'Toto, this is Kansas, of course this happens here!" she said.
KSHB 41 showed Evergy the damage and got an explanation for how the company evaluates what needs to be trimmed.
The company said it tries to keep all trimming done on a four-year cycle to keep an eight-foot clearing around power lines.
Some trees may be allowed to grow closer, like in Rogers' case. The company said it all depends on how much the trees are growing, what kind of trees they are, and how strong the trees are.
Kenny Howe at Glorioso Tree Service has been busy in the storm's aftermath.
"People should go outside right now after the storm and check," he advised. "Look up at their trees and look for any limbs that are broken that are still hanging up there. They're called widow makers for a reason."
Howe wishes he'd been kept busier doing maintenance before the storms.
"The money spent taking care of your trees and keeping them safe, is money well spent," Howe said. "Because I mean it'll almost triple the price when something like this happens."
We've all heard the saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
"You got to spend a little bit of money or you're going to spend a lot of money later," he said.
