Heavy rain over the past few days means that the River Aire is running full and fast. The surge of water has brought down with it an enormous tree, now marooned above the weir in Roberts Park. There's all kinds of debris in the fish pass too. There was a man from the Environment Agency there as I walked past and he was on his phone, presumably giving someone somewhere a report on the hazard. I can't imagine how they will resolve the issue, but I suppose they'll have to. A huge tree like that could cause quite a lot of damage to a bridge, I imagine, as well as potentially blocking the river flow and causing a flood.
I don't think many people appreciate the work that the Environment Agency do. I had a friend who used to drive all over East Anglia sorting out problems like this. From what I recall of his many stories your tree is in a perfect place for them; at an accessible point on the river without too many other trees in the way.
ReplyDeleteWinter is so hard on the trees. Here it is the weight of snow and the wind than gets them.
ReplyDeleteThe Environment Agency has ready access to useful equipment. This site would appear accessible for a light mobile crane with a hook to grapple the tree and haul it out.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's the sort of thing that'll have to be sorted quickly.
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