Massive storm clean up

[oosik]

Golly - what a mess. My first thought - glad all the folks with storm damage still want to stay where they are. It would get VERY crowded here in the PNW if they all decided to move.

I get seasonal storms and winds here. Nothing that will create a mess like in the pics. Loose some limbs - maybe a dead tree or two. Right now I'm working on a couple dead trees( Pine Bark beetle) and what to do with them.

 

[Hay Dude]

Golly - what a mess. My first thought - glad all the folks with storm damage still want to stay where they are. It would get VERY crowded here in the PNW if they all decided to move.

I get seasonal storms and winds here. Nothing that will create a mess like in the pics. Loose some limbs - maybe a dead tree or two. Right now I'm working on a couple dead trees( Pine Bark beetle) and what to do with them.

We don’t get that here, either.
It happens maybe every few years and it’s usually isolated to small areas (small tornado).
We did have a 500 year flood in ‘21.

Other than that, no reason to move from where I live, it’s very nice 4 season weather.

 

[Rustyiron]

Sounds like the rest of hay season might be over for you. Do you think you might "juggle" both?
Either way you're going to be very busy! just remember how we like pictures.

 

[groundcover]

Wonder if there is something like this nearby to rent ? Save handling it twice.

20XP – TRACK | Bandit Industries, Inc. | Bandit Equipment

banditchippers.com

 

[Hay Dude]

Sounds like the rest of hay season might be over for you. Do you think you might "juggle" both?
Either way you're going to be very busy! just remember how we like pictures.

Oh definitely. I will start second cutting first week of September. We will do what clearing work we can for the remainder of August, then start mowing hay. Once hay is done in early November, it’ll be a balancing act of trucking hay and resuming the clearing work.

 

[Rustyiron]

Just remember that generally 3 days of rental gets you a week, and the same thing goes for weekly.
If you have a choice, a hydraulic thumb is more versatile than a rigid one, but it sounds like you already have one coming.
It's exciting to have a new toy to play with and I bet you're looking forward to this "job"

 

[EddieWalker]

My neighbor hired a guy with a 315 to clear some of his land. It handled them really well.

 

[Hay Dude]

So this is my last day of “calm before the storm” (Sunday).
I was at the site on Saturday to drop off tractor, forks with log grapple, small trailer, chains, etc.
Played around a little with the tractor and dragged a few logs out of the way.

The CAT 317 gets dropped off tomorrow morning.
Man this could really be something to remember, or something to forget.

 

[4570Man]

How many standing trees are you takings down vs cleaning up ones that are already down?

 

[Hay Dude]

How many standing trees are you takings down vs cleaning up ones that are already down?

I don’t know yet, but probably quite a few. I would assume the ones that are hacked up, split or have multiple large branches missing.

 

[Doz]

If you don’t have the right logging equipment it can get into costly repairs trying to do it with farming equipment not made for this type of work.

 

[EddieWalker]

I only have a very small amount of experience dealing with people that are very particular about their land, and this may or may not apply to this situation, but in my experience, they focus on the ruts in the ground long before the job is done. All they can see is how torn up everything is, and that it will never be nice and smooth again. I don't know if it's possible, or even a concern, but smoothing out the ground while you are working might go a long ways in keeping everyone happy.

 

[Fields_mj]

I've been on jobs like that as a volunteer. The crew that I volunteer with uses multiple minis with thumbs and track skid steers with grapples. You can do it with a tractor and grapple, but there's a limit to how much of a hill a tractor can handle.

As far as tearing up the land goes, the storm already did that. Cleaning up the damage will make an absolute mess out of everything. If you're going to go so slow that you minimize and ground damage, progress will be painstakingly slow. If they want it cleaned up without disrupting anything else, I'd pass on the job. Not worth loosing them as a customer on the other work you do for them.

 

[sea2summit]

From the sounds of it HayDude had an established relationship with this land owner. I think he’s tracking what to watch for.

 

[Hay Dude]

Just dropping a few pics from today. Got one road open ad then started clearing large fallen pines. Crazy days boys, just crazy.

Going into the abyss with the Challenger & log grapple. Like bringing a BB gun to a war.

Post more later, but we are underway.

 

[Hay Dude]

If you don’t have the right logging equipment it can get into costly repairs trying to do it with farming equipment not made for this type of work.

We rented a 20 ton excavator with a hydraulic thumb. Tractor being used Sparingly

 

[Rustyiron]

Today was a good workout for the AC! I bet the man with the saw was beat by noon.
thx for the pictures.

 

[Smokeydog]

Still cleaning up storm damage from over three years ago. Trees that got a lean from the storm continue to fall. Got the majority of what impacts us done but still many carcasses off the road. Nature has helped. Limbs 4-6” that would have needed to be cut now break. Many trees twisted off at 25’ high starting to rot and should be ready to push over in a few years.

I can appreciate the land owners distress but nature is remarkable in healing itself and adapting. Maybe add trails thru the impacted areas to showcase the raw power and the fury of life?Remarkable ability of nature to renew. My many piles have shrunk and blend in, housing multitude of life. New growth with more diversity and with tremendous vigor now competes for the same space. Disaster or gift is hard appreciate without sufficient time. Majority of wildlife likes the rough edges of woods to clearing’s boundaries.

Problem or once in a lifetime opportunity? You have a unique entrepreneurial relationship to bring additional value to the project. Will never restore what was in our lifetime but can be witness to the spectacular change and renewal. Trail building and maintenance is in your wheelhouse?

 

[Hay Dude]

Yes all of that is being considered and possible. We are trying to reopen tractor/truck paths and clean up the worst visual impacts first for 2 weeks, then take time to reassess the next phase.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

Just looking at pictures here from the comfort of the AC... It looks like some of that you might could remove the big stuff and use a forestry mulcher to groom it up. Or maybe use the mulcher and track hoe in tandem. Mulch up to the big stuff and move it as it's being uncovered. Admittedly I'm not experienced with a mulcher but, if you are going to grind the smalls anyway, maybe it would save a step to just mulch in place vs carrying everything to a stand alone grinder? Possibly the grindings from the mulcher would protect and repair the ground from the damage from the tire ruts and steel track damage at the same time? Also as an added bonus, each area would look complete as you go vs working bigs then smalls then ground repair in a large area.