“Dangerous” measures to remove fallen trees in Otago and Southland have become the biggest long-term concern after last week’s devastating windstorm.
Logger Mike Hurring told 1News he and his team of 60 expected to take a year to get a “good hold” on the sudden workload.
One farm he attended this week was that of Bryce Clark, whose cattle yards were mostly destroyed by fallen tree trunks.
“I couldn’t believe it. We’ve had the odd tree come down every now and again, but this is beyond any scale that we’ve had before,” Clark said.
He had more than $100,000 of damage to his property from hundreds of downed trees.
Rural Communities Minister Mark Patterson said there were “trees down absolutely everywhere” in Clutha and Southland.
“It’s very widespread.”
‘Leave it to the experts’
Power, water and communications remain disrupted for thousands as crews race to restore services ahead of more severe weather. (Source: 1News)
Logging professionals urged property owners to avoid doing the job alone and wait for help amid an influx of callouts.
“We’re really concerned about people getting out there on chainsaws and dangerous situations. We had a fatality in Tasman in the clean-up,” Patterson said.
Peter Lines died in June while clearing vegetation after flooding in Tasman.
Stores in the weather-struck area have sold out of large chainsaws and retailers were awaiting more stock, including Stihl Shop Milton.
Store owner John Taal said staff have been “run off our feet”.
“We are selling some safety equipment, but we’re pushing home a message that if it looks unsafe, it is unsafe, so please leave it to the experts.”
Unstable fallen trees, power lines touching branches, and wounds from chainsaw blades could all have fatal consequences.
Hurring added that “kickback” from chainsaws was a “huge issue” when in the hands of those with less experience.
“You end up with a chainsaw between your eyes or through your hand. You cut your legs, cut your feet,” he explained.
“Yesterday [at community meetings], I had so many people come to me, ‘Oh, my son did this, and he slipped over and he cut himself’. So please just, you know, just don’t do it.”
Emergency Management Southland controller Lucy Hicks said the region has been “really lucky – nobody’s been seriously hurt or killed”.
“We want that luck to continue.”
Foresters ‘out of pocket’
Meanwhile, financial losses in the forestry industry were expected to be worth millions.
“Returns can range from $20,000 to $40,000 per hectare back to the grower. So if you look at the hundreds, thousands of hectares that are on the ground around here, you can do the maths,” Hurring said.
NZ Forest Owners Association chief executive Elizabeth Heeg said foresters would have to shoulder the cost themselves.
“The most available insurance is around fire, so for wind throw events and for landslides, that’s something that usually foresters are going to have to cover out of pocket for their businesses,” she said.
Officials said it was too early to know the total recovery costs.
The state of emergency remained in place for Clutha and Southland.
