FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 11, 2024
Texas
A&M Forest Service assesses hurricane impact, a state forest temporarily closes
COLLEGE STATION, Texas—In
the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, Texas A&M Forest Service has estimated
that hurricane force winds, measured by the NOAA National Weather Service,
impacted 50% of Houston’s urbanized area tree coverage. Over 400,000 acres of rural
forestland were potentially impacted by hurricane force winds (74-80 mph) and another
7.4 million acres of forestland experienced tropical storm force winds (39-73
mph).
The National Weather Service
preliminarily reported three tornadoes in East Texas.
As a result of the damage
caused by the storm, Texas A&M Forest Service is temporarily closing the W.G. Jones State Forest, in Conroe, Texas, to the public until more efforts can be
dedicated to the damage assessment and cleanup of the forest. Texas A&M
Forest Service personnel in Conroe and Huntsville are currently transitioning
their efforts from chainsaw clearing to points of distribution (POD) activities in the Greater Houston area to assist in water
and food supply distribution.
Texas A&M Forest Service
continues to have personnel and Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System
(TIFMAS) strike teams deployed to aid in response and recovery efforts.
“This is a difficult time
for our community and state,” said Steve Anderson, Texas A&M Forest Service
State Lands Coordinator. “Our state forest has experienced damage which can
pose a risk to visiting community members. We have decided to temporarily close
the W.G. Jones State Forest so that community members can stay safe while our
local teams serve in their community first.”
Texas A&M Forest Service
Biologist Donna Work assessed the federally endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW)
habitat on the state forest and has determined that it was not significantly
impacted. The RCW still have plenty of foraging habitat available, and all active
cavity trees surveyed are unharmed.
“We used a combination of
on-the-ground observation, remote sensing and Forest Inventory and Analysis
data to conduct a tree damage assessment for rural forests in East Texas and
the Houston metro area,” said Aaron Stottlemyer, Texas A&M Forest Service Forest
Analytics Department Head. “This data collection was made possible through strong
coordination by our first responders on the ground and data analysts.”
Community trees were among
the most heavily impacted by the storm. These trees experienced occasional whole-tree
failure exacerbated by saturated soil, small branch shedding and major limb
breakage.
Damage to forest trees was
relatively light and isolated to road edges or small pockets of pine timber
where trees were snapped or had their tops broken out. There were also some
cases where some large pines and hardwoods were uprooted and fell over.
Texas A&M Forest Service
urges community members to use extreme caution when clearing tree debris from
the hurricane. Homeowners and municipalities can utilize
Texas A&M Forest Service resources
that include chainsaw safety tips, a checklist to determine if a tree is salvageable,
how to hire an arborist and much more.
“We often see a rise in
injuries in the days and weeks following natural disasters as a result of
people attempting to clear damage from their yards,” said Anderson. “By utilizing
our online recovery resources, homeowners can recover more safely and strategically.”
Texas A&M Forest Service
will continue to assess the damage of the hurricane to produce and share
further damage reports while also assisting in local response efforts in the
coming days and weeks. The W.G. Jones State Forest will reopen to the public after
recovery efforts make way for safe experiences on the forest.
###
Contacts:
Aaron Stottlemyer, Texas
A&M Forest Service Forest Analytics Department Head, 979-458-6630, astottlemyer@tfs.tamu.edu
Steve Anderson, Texas
A&M Forest Service State Lands Coordinator, 936-635-9323, sanderson@tfs.tamu.edu
Texas A&M Forest Service
Communications, 979-458-6606, newsmedia@tfs.tamu.edu