Weakened trees pose threats as Ivan could be heading toward Upstate

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A new threat faces Upstate homeowners this time, in addition to power outages and flooding. With the ground saturated from the 6 to 12 inches of rain that recently fell, even healthy trees are vulnerable to toppling in high winds.

Local tree trimming companies said they were swamped Friday, and one owner said he had stopped returning phone calls to potential customers.

Escape to the scenic climes of the Blue Ridge Parkway in western North Carolina may be hampered, since rock slides and flooding linked to Hurricane Frances have damaged sections of the road, officials said Friday.

Damage was estimated at $6 million, National Park Service officials said. An engineering assessment is planned to see what repairs are needed and how long they will take, officials said.

Andrew Lewis, 23, a North Greenville College student, said he wasn't surprised to hear about the damage, given the reports of flooding.

"I was just talking to someone about going up there to look at the leaves," he said.

According to the park service, road closures include: Milepost 317 near Linville Falls to mile 325, from Milepost 344 at NC 80 near Marion to Milepost 355 at Mt. Mitchell State Park, and from Milepost 412 at U.S. 276 south of Mt. Pisgah to Milepost 443 at US 23/74 near Waynesville.

The major rock slides are at Mileposts 322, 345, 348,349, 413 and 429, the park service said. Most of those between Milepost 322 and 349 claimed portions of the road and the segment of the parkway, from just south of Linville Falls to south of Buck Creek Gap at NC 80 near Marion, may be closed for up to a year, officials said. U.S. 276 is closed both east and west of its intersection with the parkway, officials said.

For additional information about routes, go to http://www.nps.gov/blri/pphtml/news.

Schneider Tree Care had 15-20 calls by mid-day from people trying to get their trees trimmed before the storm, said Brandon Brown, an arborist with the company.

"Any time you have soil this wet from two days of solid rain, any amount of wind could blow a tree over," he said. "With the clay soils, most tree roots only go down 8 to 18 inches."

What path Ivan will take in the coming days is uncertain, but initial predictions would have it moving over the Upstate during the day Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Coral Gables, Fla.

The hurricane moved across Jamaica on Friday, and extended forecasts call for it to make landfall near Tampa on Tuesday.

However, the forecast track shows it could slam the coast anywhere from the Outer Banks of North Carolina to Mobile, Ala.

Unless the track changes radically, the Upstate will start seeing rain from Ivan on Tuesday, said Bob Bruce, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Greer.

"It could be quite serious if we get a rainfall like we just had on top of what we just had," he said.

Bruce said it appears that the storm could move to the east of Greenville, meaning the heaviest rains would fall in the southern parts of the Upstate up through Charlotte, since that would be the eastern side of the storm.

"The worst case is that it could be as bad as Frances," Bruce said.

There is little you can do now to protect yourself and trees, since the storm is less than five days away. Regular pruning and trimming is needed during the season.

At the last minute, at least get rid of dead or dying branches and have an arborist or forester examine trees that have fungus growing on them or are starting to crack, said Knight Cox with Clemson University.

"Right now, there's not a whole lot you can do," Brown said. "Just pray."

Jason Zacher covers the environment and natural resources. He can be reached at 298-4272.