This Is Where Trees Go To Die

Little Rock crews are working double time, trying to clear drains and canals ahead of rain Wednesday night.

The city is choked with tree branches and other debris from a Christmas snowstorm and city officials are concerned about flooding.

So is SkipTtriplett.

Triplett got a big lump of coal for Christmas: a giant mass of twigs and trees that plugged the canal behind his house on Taylor Loop in Little Rock

"It's just a mess, a real big mess," Triplett said.

The Little Rock man tried to cut away some of the mass, but barely made a dent. With heavy rain in the forecast, Triplett realized he was in deep water.

"This is really bad," he said.

But Triplett's wife called the city's 311 line and a public works crew was out the next day, chopping through the jungle behind his house.

Supervisor Herman Wiley says the mass of debris posed a big flooding risk. "We're trying to get all this debris and stuff out of the ditch so we don't have what we call a beaver dam." Wiley said.

City Manager Bruce Moore says there's enough debris around town to keep crews busy until July, but all that gets shoved to the side as crews concentrate on clearing waterways.

"Right now, we're not concerned about this stuff on the side," Triplett said. "We're concerned about what's in the flow of the ditch line."

With the city crew hard at work, cutting, dragging and dicing trees, the steady buzzing of chainsaws is music to Triplett's ears.

"Oh my gosh," Triplett said. "It's a lot of relief. It's a lot of relief. I just can't imagine- I'm so thankful that they're doing this... My home is saved."