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7 r`� By The Associated Press A Douglas fir about 6 feet across
<br /> L NOR
<br /> T /� EST IN ,L1 rr PORTLAND — Damage to crashed across the roof of Earl
<br /> homes caused by fallen trees during Stocker's house. He thinks the
<br /> t+ 3. Y last week's wind storm has develop- thinned forest to the south in Heron
<br /> 4" ers and city officials rethinking how Grove is at least partly to blame.
<br /> ' •' people can safely live near the trees "We fought it hard," Stocker said
<br /> p `-� �. ` a s�! ` that are so characteristic of North- of Heron Grove. "They've ruined the
<br /> ' „`l :.". , west living. whole damn neighborhood."
<br /> �„�,, yo � a ; A number of natural variables For their art builders feel think
<br /> fi came together to make last Tues- they re in a no -win situation. Buyers
<br /> ; „ .'''.--...,1-
<br /> ` .� ` �;� + +° r day's storm harder on forests, ac- want treed lots with a suburban or
<br /> . r 3 ,, , �, +; -, cording to a report by The Oregoni- rural feel. Yet developers are viii
<br /> ` � an newspaper. fied when they take out trees to
<br /> :4 � � ' The Portland area received 11 build just those types of subdivisions.
<br /> ti ; a 1,, g ia .�?^ t a inches of rain that left the ground Ernie Platt, a vice president for
<br /> { saturated and unable to support Matrix Development Corp., thinks
<br /> t j ' , � � � s g during the strong winds. the smartest way to develop land i ,A is
<br /> :. .; As many percent P Y g
<br /> � � ,, � =11 � y as 70 ercent of the sim 1 to c lear all native ve etation.
<br /> �' ; , ,�� � trees downed in the storm were up- "The safest way to get a treed lot
<br /> rooted rather than snapped off, said may be to clear it, grade it and re-
<br /> ' Paul Reis, the manager of the Ore- plant it with the right trees," Platt
<br /> € " g gon Department of Forestry's urban said.
<br /> j, ti and community forest program. In Beaverton's Murrayhill neigh
<br /> `
<br /> � �����, �, Human development also played borhood on Cooper Mountain, two
<br /> 1 '1, F , r' ; ', � . a role: Clearing land, building roads parcels about a mile apart suffered
<br /> 3 - and installing utilities inevitably dramatically different fates. Associated p„ damage tree roots. Soil is compacted Jeri and Dennis Yarchenko's
<br /> Durham residents, 11 miles southwest of Portland, face a big cleanup. as well, which also causes stress. home sits on a cleared lot near what
<br /> Homeowners often add to the was a 1.4 -acre forest, thick with
<br /> problem by installing irrigation Douglas fir, dogwood, holly and vine
<br /> lines. The process of digging ditches maple.
<br /> Suburl trees can damage roots. And the liberal But in Tuesday's storm, the winds
<br /> a
<br /> watering required by sod often hurts howled down the street, which li
<br /> trees by promoting root rot. funnel, aimed the gales at their par-
<br /> •
<br /> Then there's the question of cel. The house was spared, but about
<br /> less attractive windbreaks. three-quarters of the trees are gone,
<br /> As a stand grows, only the strong probably more than 100.
<br /> er, more vital trees survive on the "This was thick, massively
<br /> wind- buffeted edges. Behind the thick," she said. "It was totally gor
<br /> windbreak, less robust trees with geous. Now it's nothing."
<br /> •
<br /> a er windstorm s root systems get Less than a mile away, the same
<br /> Take out the stronger, , windbreak winds hit the same-size w lots on the
<br /> trees, and a grove that has stood for same side of Cooper Mountain. But
<br /> centuries suddenly becomes vu lner- there was little damage.
<br /> • Danger: Trees blown down by the wind have able. Bill Bugbee, who lives on the
<br /> some homeowners supporting clear-cuts. In Durham, 11 miles southwest of street and is head of the Friends of
<br /> Portland, Mayor Peggy Manning Cooper Mountain, said only two
<br /> toured the Heron Grove subdivision, trees blew down on his lot, both dead
<br /> where some three dozen trees dam- hemlocks.
<br /> aged half of the 62 newly built Fifteen years ago, Bugbee said,
<br /> homes. developers built the homes amid the
<br /> "I can't believe I'm saying this, trees, a more intricate building pro -
<br /> but in view of all the damage, I real- cess. The more trees in a stand, the
<br /> ly think that maybe the best thing stronger the root system and the bet -
<br /> they could have done was to go in ter they're able to withstand high
<br /> there and clear -cut the entire area," wind, he said.
<br /> Manning said. "We kept the integrity of the for -
<br /> Residents of the neighboring est system intact," Bugbee said.
<br /> Kings Gate subdivision said develop- "Once that integrity has been com-
<br /> ment of Heron Grove destroyed an promised, you lose the value of the
<br /> important windbreak of strong trees. forest system for habitat and livabili-
<br /> So when the southerly winds raged ty. Having one or two skinny trees
<br /> across Western Oregon, the unpro- next to your house as more of a
<br /> tected trees of Kings Gate fell like beauty issue doesn't make a lot a
<br /> matchsticks. sense."
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