SHERRARD, Ill. — Quad City tree service crews have their hands full after Monday's derecho.
Dittmer Tree Service is one company being called in following the storm. Owner Catherine Dittmer said workers got to work before the sun came up.
"Our crew was up at 4:30 yesterday morning receiving calls, prioritizing where we were gonna be," Dittmer said. "Mapping out our routes for the day and we continued working until about sunset last night."
And she said they're making sure to focus on those who need it most.
"When your power is out, it can be a huge disruption to your life," Dittmer said. "And so that's why companies like mine work very closely with utility companies to prioritize where our you know it's need for our work to happen."
Dittmer Tree Service Foremen Christopher Garcia-Castro said the cleanup is just the start.
"Honestly most of it is just hangars and stuff like that just hanging," Garcia-Castro said. "Most of the stuff is on the ground and then anything dangerous we've rigging down and getting down for most people. We've been basically cleaning up and then we're gonna go back and start actually removing a lot of the damaged trees."
He said the worst of the damage was found on River Drive in Davenport where many locals gathered to help out.
"It's super nice because the last street we were at in Davenport yesterday everyone was out literally helping each other with everything they could," Garcia-Castro said. "And everyone just helping pull the brush and everything up to the street so the city can come pick it up. So, it's been nice seeing people come together and actually do something about it."
Dittmer said she predicts crewmen to continue working on clean up for a week. After that, they will spend months assessing the stability of trees as they may have been weakened by the storm and more likely to fall down.