Accumulated ice damages old East Texas trees, but many could recover

WOOD COUNTY, Texas (KLTV) - The weight of ice accumulation is too much to bear for some old East Texas trees.

In Holly Lake Ranch in Wood County, many homeowners are worried about possibly losing their old growth trees to the ice storm.

The private community was designed decades ago to incorporate the beauty of existing old growth trees, some of them 150-plus years old.

“They’re such beautiful old trees. I can’t wait to get up in the morning to see the beauty in our back yard, it’s just gorgeous,” says homeowner Marie Hanson.

For the past two days neighbors have heard the familiar sound of branches cracking and crashing to the ground.

“There are a lot of pine trees out here that have suffered limb loss,” says Maries husband George.

And not just branches, trees simply toppled over from the weight of the ice upon them.

“I heard that cracking sound as if a tree was falling and when I went out the back door I found a big branch lying across the fence,” says homeowner Casey Minor.

“Cold kind of burns the living tissue within the trees and that happens with evergreens like pines and cedars, and also hardwoods. It’s kind of like freezer burn. We have to keep in mind the drought stress that happened to these tress over the last couple of years. Freezing rain comes down, hits these trees and the weight of the ice brings the limbs down,” says Texas A&M Forest Service PIO Sean Dugan.

Though no significant damage was done to homes, the trees are showing the effects, bending and leaning from the weight.

“Over the streets though, it’s very dangerous, people can’t get through on the roads,” Marie says.

The good news is that trees are resilient.

“As long as it’s not broken, it will most like correct itself,” said Dugan.

Dugan also said leaning trees will most likely straighten out over time, as they grow towards sunlight.

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