Fallen tree limbs, buzzing chainsaws, and roofs littered with tree debris: following the first snowfall of the season in the Gallatin Valley, residents of the Forest Park Trailer Park experienced what some say was the worst damage of their time as a resident.
Matthew Visscher has been a resident in the park for more than 10 years and details how the age of the trees, the placement of the homes, and the sheer amount of leaf coverage all contributed to the debris seen today.
“It’s the worse I’ve seen in the time that I’ve lived here. Just look around; some of these trees were probably here before there were even homes. They’re still there, and they’re causing a real safety problem for us,” Visscher said.
Visscher continues to describe the large amount leaves and snowpack on top of the trees that cause large limbs—at times small tree size— to come crashing down. Thankfully, no one has been injured at the park, but Visscher’s neighbor and her son had a close call just a day prior.
“His mom starts the car, there’s limbs everywhere already—he is coming out to the porch with his school bag and KABOOM, a ‘Kill Limb’, not a little tree limb. If it would have hit him, who knows what would have happened,” Visscher said.
Bob Harris is another resident who moved to Forest Park back in October of 2014, and emphasizes the danger of these limbs.
“This isn’t about the damage, things can be replaced; this is about people. Someone is going to die here, the size of these limbs and trees that are falling, these could kill somebody,” Harris said.
The manager of the property was out assisting neighbors with tree damage and limb debris and did not wish to comment.
