In the Twelve Oaks subdivision of Town ‘n’ Country, the streets are lined with tall laurel oaks—planted decades ago after residents demanded greenery from the original developer. Now, those same trees are reaching the end of their lifespan, and neighbors like Sue Pritchard are taking action to prevent disaster.

“We do love them very much,” Pritchard told Bay News 9. “When the builder first developed Twelve Oaks, there weren’t any trees. The new homeowners complained, and that’s when oaks were planted along all the boulevards.”

But last hurricane season, several of those aging trees came crashing down—including one that fell right in front of Pritchard’s home following Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

“Thank God it didn’t hit our house, but it was still expensive to deal with,” said Pritchard, who now serves as president of the Twelve Oaks Civic Association. “And we miss our tree.”

With another storm season approaching, Pritchard is determined to prevent further damage. She’s been driving through the neighborhood identifying and reporting dead or dying trees to Hillsborough County.

So far, she has reported 20 trees and has urged others in the community to keep an eye out as well. Hillsborough County says it will inspect any trees located in public right-of-way areas, such as medians or the space between the sidewalk and the street. Trees marked for removal will be tagged with a blue dot.

“We had so much damage in Town ‘n’ Country last hurricane season that people are still recovering,” Pritchard explained to Bay News 9. “I’d hate to see more unnecessary damage just because we didn’t act in time.”

Though she doesn’t claim to be a tree expert, Pritchard says she’ll continue scouting the neighborhood—and encourages others to do the same.

Residents who spot a potentially hazardous tree in a public area can submit a request for removal online at: https://hcfl.gov/residents/property-owners-and-renters/roads-and-sidewalks/request-tree-removal

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(Image credit: Spectrum Bay News 9/Dalia Dangerfield)

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