BILLINGS — A heavy thunderstorm Sunday left tree debris all across Billings Monday, blocking streets and destroying property as crews began the cleanup.
One tree in the yard of a Billings North Side residence was completely knocked over, destroying the mailbox directly under it. Public Works officials removed the tree from the road and spent much of Monday cutting it up. It’s just one of many stops they’ll be making all week.
Eventually they’ll get to the 300 block of Wyoming Avenue, where a tree was blocking the entire road.
"The back end of my truck was here, and you can see where it went," said resident Greg Gustafson. "It pretty luckily went right around it.
Gustafson's neighbor across the street wasn’t as lucky - his white work truck was trapped underneath a giant pile of branches. But he wasn’t about to let that stop him.
"He got out with a chainsaw and spent two hours trying to cut his way out, saying he had to go to work," Gustafson said.
The truck owner did dig himself out. Agnes Thompson, his wife, spent most of Monday cleaning up their sidewalk so no one would have to walk under the tree.
If you’re like Agnes with lots of debris, help is on the way - the city’s Solid Waste Division is planning extra curbside pickups starting Saturday.
