Storm Arthur tree cleanup costs in Fredericton reach $1.2M

The cost of cleaning up tree damage from post-tropical storm Arthur in Fredericton has reached about $1.2 million, but is expected to increasenow that autumn has arrived, say city officials.

Don Murray, parks and trees manager for the city, says cleanup efforts are ongoing, with crewsabout 60 per cent through removing stumps on front lawns and filling holes caused by the July 5 storm.

But as more leaves fall, more damage will be visible, he said.

Up to 400 more trees may have to be cut down, said Murray.

He had previously estimated 4,000 trees were broken or toppled over by the high winds and heavy rains Arthur delivered to the region.That figure did notincludetrees on private property or in city parks.

Fredericton, which is known as the City of Stately Elms, is responsible for 30,000 street and ornamental park trees.

It's a lot of work for a small staff, said Murray.

The city is still fielding up to 20 calls a day from people worried about their trees, he said.

"Everybody wants it done at the same time. Its not as if we have 1,000 stump holes out there and we can send 1,000 crews out to do them all in the same day.

"So it is a process and were trying to do it, like I said, as efficiently as possible. So we have to start at one end of the city and end in another end of the city so someones stump hole is going to be the last one to get filled and theyre probably going to be the person that we hear from most."

Murray says crews still haven't evenassessed the damage inside many parks, beyond making sure the playgrounds were safe.

In some cases, such as Odell Park, the best option may be to simply leave uprooted trees on the forest floor, he said.