Up to 200 trees downed or damaged, portions of swan pond fence crushed
By Jason Emerson
Editor
A summer storm last Saturday, Aug. 13, left the villageof Manlius with thousands of powerless homes, downed power lines, around 200 trees downed or damaged and the swan pond fence damaged.
“Throughout the village we’ve got a lot of trees done and we’re out in full force today picking up brush, trying to get anything out of the sidewalks, off the streets and trying to prepare for what could be a storm tomorrow,” said Manlius Village DPW Superintendent Chris Sherwood.
Sherwood said he estimates that somewhere between 150 and 200 trees are either down completely or lost large limbs from the storm.
The village has hired Bartlett Tree Service to help do some of the heavier tree removal work needed around the village, Sherwood said.
The swan pond area saw a lot of damage, with multiple trees down and four sections of the pond fence damaged. The DPW has taped off the path around the pond for pedestrian safety and has erected a snow fence around damaged fence portions to keep the swans inside, Sherwood said. “All swans are accounted for,” he said.
The village DPW crews will be picking up brush all week, and asks residents to be sure to keep brush on their lawns and in the right-of-way and not in the road. Sherwood also asks that any residents who hire contractors for tree removal have the contractors take the brush with them.
About 100,000 National Grid customers lost power during the height of the storm, with the areas of Manlius and Fayetteville being some of the hardest hit in Central New York, said National Grid spokeswoman Virginia Limmiatis. She said approximately 12,000 customers in the Town of Manlius lost power due to severely damaged trees, poles, wires and other equipment. National Grid crews restored electricity service to those customers by Sunday evening.
Fayetteville DPW crew leader Billy Way said there was practically no storm damage in Fayetteville.
Despite the severity of the storm, no injuries or accidents were reported within the town of Manlius, according to Manlius police officials.
