After watching hundreds of trees come crashing down during the January storms, Portland area arborists are warning homeowners not to let fear lead to quick decisions, like hiring a tree removal service.

Instead, they are urging folks to truly assess the trees on their property before making a decision.

Tree Keepers of Washington County held a meeting Wednesday night at Saint Andrew Lutheran Church in Beaverton where they invited in dozens of local homeowners to discuss some of those warning signs with Will Koomjian, an arborist and tree risk assessor for Emergent Tree Works

Koomjian said after the most recent storm and number of downed trees our area saw, he understands why folks might be concerned about trees on their property coming down in another potential storm. However, he also said that fear shouldn’t dictate decisions about whether or not to take a tree down because he said this storm was a generational one.

“We shouldn’t make decisions assuming that something like this is going to happen every few years,” Koomjian said. “I really hope that we don’t see a commensurate loss of perfectly good trees just because of fear in the time after the storm.”

Koomjian said having a trusted arborist come out and assess your property is a good idea if there’s a tree you’re concerned about. He said there are also things folks can do on their own to assess their trees.

Those who attended the meeting including Sylvia Edgar said it was eye-opening to learn more about what an arborist would consider when deciding if a tree needs to be taken down or not.

“I think it’s great to create space for conversations like this and for people to be able to ask questions and get answers from someone who’s reputable an hear other peoples stories and kind of recognize that we’re all in it together,” Edgar said.

Another tip shared at the meeting was to establish a relationship with an arborist so when another potential storms comes our way, you have someone in your back pocket who is already familiar with your property and your trees.