One Colwood resident has decided to help his neighbours in need by chopping, chipping and clearing fallen trees from the windstorm on Friday (Nov. 4).
Kyle Hobbs owns and operates tree removal company Coastal Tree Works, and decided to make his company’s services free for residents who had trees knocked down by the heavy winds that wreaked havoc throughout Greater Victoria.
“Aside from contributing to the community, there’s the enjoyment of the puzzle. When the tree is standing, it’s generally pretty easy to guess, ‘Okay, I’m gonna pull this off here, cut this here.’ When it’s on the ground, it’s got a bunch of compression points – it’s just a different puzzle. So you got to figure out if you’ve got it this way. What’s gonna move, what’s gonna fall?”
Over the weekend, Hobbs has cleared trees from three properties, including one that had fallen onto a house off Atkins Road in Colwood. This is not the first time he’s done this, Hobbs has helped over 50 families clear fallen trees after storms in the past three years.
Colwood resident Ola Karpik was surprised on Saturday morning when she woke up to find a tree had fallen across her car.
“We didn’t hear it, usually you’re worried about the bigger trees, but this little one fell, dented and scratched up our car.”
Hobbs put out a call on the Colwood Community Association Facebook page offering his help and went to Karpik’s home at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. Within 30 minutes the tree was cut, chipped and cleared away.
“I’ve just discovered that after my 38 years on this planet, the more you help people, the more people help you,” Hobbs said.