Florida Strong- Hurricane Irma Disaster Relief

When Z Tree Experts witnessed the devastation that Hurricane Irma left behind in Florida and the Caribbean, we knew we had to do something to help out! We made sure everything was taken care of in New Jersey and created an action plan. After a trip to Costco for food and water, we packed up all of our equipment and gear, including a crane, skid steers, and chippers. We fueled up and left Clifton, New Jersey in our rear-view mirrors and started our long journey down south.

After a 20-hour drive through the night, we arrived in Jacksonville, Florida where we had our first tree removal off of a garage. The customer was so thrilled we came down, completed the job quickly and efficiently. The next day, bright and early, we started to head South West where the eye of the storm did the most damage.

We received a call that a large Water Oak fell on an elderly woman’s garage and several trees were blocking her driveway. Shortly after the call and after a few hours of driving later, we arrived and immediately got to work. The job took two days to complete because we experienced some lightening which prevented us from using the crane. The hospitality we received from that woman was amazing and will never be forgotten. After fixing her generator, restoring her power and completing all the hazardous tree work we headed on to the next location.

Next stop: Tampa!
Upon arrival, we started our next removal of large maple limbs that fell onto a house and large cactus plants which got destroyed.

Day 4 we headed down to Naples and Marco Island, which had the most visible devastation that we encountered while we were in Florida. We completed a few jobs and helped out some residents along the way.

Having work lined up in North Jersey, we could only stay down for a week, but we helped as much as we could and made the most of our time there. Then the long journey home started. Z Tree Experts had an amazing adventure and life changing experience in the South! We hope that our visit was beneficial for the residents of Florida, and wish for a quick rebuild and clean up for the lasting damage.