SAN ANTONIO — With a beautiful sunny sky and a high around 70 degrees on Monday, it's hard to believe that exactly one year ago the local area was slipping into a deep freeze that turned deadly and caused people to be without power for days.
And just 12 days ago, there was another dose of freezing precipitation and high wind that left thousands of people in the cold and dark as power lines went down under the weight of ice and the force of blustery gusts.
Enjoying the sun-drenched day, Kirk Nuckols of CPS Energy said this is the perfect time for home owners to inspect their property and prepare for the next round of bad weather.
Nuckols said, "During this time when you have this beautiful type of weather like this, this is a good time to go out and look up and live and inspect your vegetation on your side of your property."
Nuckols said many people don't know that trimming vegetation between the power pole in the street and the meter loop on a home is the responsibility of the home owner.
"If you have a service drop coming from the pole, to the meter loop on the side of your home, you need to trim out that opening so that when the bad and adverse weather conditions come they do not disturb your power lines or damage your power lines to cause you to lose power," Nuckols said.
Nuckols said tree limbs crashing into power lines during storms can cause plenty of misery.
"When you have high winds like the last several weeks we've been getting with these strong fronts coming in, it doesn't take much to tear down your service, or ground it out, or cause it to arc out and blow a fuse," Nuckols said.
Nuckols said it's always a good idea to hire professional help, but even if a property owner decides to handle the job themselves, safety must always come first.
"Know the rules and keep at least ten foot of distance away from lines. If they must get closer, call CPS and we will come out and disconnect that line so you can safely go trim that tree and then we will re-connect that line," Nuckols said.
Arborist Gerzson Nyiri of Knotty By Nature Tree Care agrees that it's easy for homeowners to get into dangerous situations without realizing it.
"Each one of the lines can carry a huge amount of current, and that current can jump from the wires to say your metal tools that you're using to prune the tree," Nyiri said.
Working in tight urban environments where houses are close together and people, pets and cars are nearby, Nyiri said hiring a bonded contractor is a wise investment.
"That's why you chose a professional. To save you the injury. To save you potential property damage costs and to keep people out of the hospital," Nyiri said.
Nyiri said doing a thorough inspection of any work zone is critical.
"You have to give the tree a full 360 look around it for hazards," Nyiri said.
He said many hardy species with thick leafy covers make seeing power lines difficult. Pointing out the dark color of a live oak and the darkness of a passing power line, Nyiri said it's easy to be tricked.
"That's why seeing the tree from a different perspective and getting the full view from far away and up close is crucially important," Nyiri said.
Because trees do add value to any parcel of property, Nyiri said making sure they are healthy and safe does make economic sense.
"If you prune properly, the tree will live on far beyond our lifetime, and that's our greatest concern," Nyiri said.
"The biggest thing here in Texas is the shade on your home that is crucially important to save on your air conditioning bill," Nyiri said.
Adding that trees are important for wildlife and people, Nyiri said, "There are so many factors that add up to their value. They do so much more than we give them credit for."
CPS Energy has many tips for tree safety and winter preparedness here.