Picking Up the Pieces

For many of us, the winter storm of February 2021 will be remembered as a day of beautiful winter wonderland followed by a disaster, both personal and widespread. Many of us are still cleaning up—from broken pipes to landscaping that was planted with drought in mind, not a week of sub-freezing temperatures.

SMGA volunteers scouted for problems on the trails, and most of our work seemed to involve ashe juniper trees that had limbs succumb to the weight of accumulated snow and ice on their evergreen foliage. Other trees that seemed to be affected were desert willow and retamas, which are weaker wooded species. Volunteers have so far logged around 40 hours in the cleanup effort, but there is more to do. We track these particular hours to assist in the city’s efforts to obtain FEMA funding.

Cheers to our beautiful trails, our volunteers, and the hardy souls that weathered this storm.

Written by Diane Phalen, SMGA vice-president and member of the Outreach Committee