This morning, Saturday December 2, 2023, Hamlet voluntter firefighters were called out to a tree down on hwy 26, blocking all lanes (at appoximatelyl milepost 10 – west of the intersection with Hwy. 53.) On our arrival, we found an extremely (understatement!) large spruce tree blocking all lanes at milepost 10. This was the largest tree that Hamlet has ever removed from the highway; this includes all of the trees we worked with during the 2007 wind storm. One firefighter brought his own personal saw with a 36″ bar, and that was insufficient to fully cut the tree; leaving about 2′ of wood at the center even after cutting around the entire diameter. It measured almost 8′ in diameter on the north side of the hwy, and over 4′ on the south side.
(PHOTOS BY HAMLET VFD)
Hamlet firefighters limbed the entire tree and ODOT used a plow truck to remove limbs from the roadway. Eventually, a larger saw was brought in and the tree was bucked into smaller lengths that could be rolled by the ODOT backhoe. All lanes were shut down for approximately 5 hours. Once one section of tree was removed, Hamlet Fire personnel flagged one-way traffic to free up ODOT personnel to continue with tree removal.
At this time (appoximately 2 pm on Saturday December 2nd) all lanes are open, however the road surface was damaged by the falling tree, so please exercise caution when traveling through the area.
The winds and rain are forecast to increase this afternoon and into tomorrow – with flood and wind watch advisories. Be prepared for potentially hazarous driving conditions. Always have an emergency kit with you; do NOT drive through flooded roadways. Monitor road conditions at www.tripcheck.com Know before you go.