What to do with fallen trees and branches in Winnipeg

Winnipeggers are recovering after a brutal snowstorm pummelled the city and southern half of the province, and now that the power is mostly back on, people are wondering what to do with trees and debris littering sidewalks, streets, and yards.

Shortly after 4 p.m. on Sunday, Bowman announced a local state of emergency for Winnipeg in order to allow crews to respond to public safety issues resulting from downed trees in contact with hydro lines and expedite the post-storm clean up — which has already had a "significant" financial impact on the city, the mayor said during a press conference at City Hall.

The city said on its website, about 30,000 trees on city-managed property were impacted by the storm, not to mention those on private property.

Where is the city focusing its resources?

According to the city's website, crews are focusing on areas where roads are blocked.

"Crews continue to clear and remove downed trees and fallen branches city-wide in response to the recent snowfall, focusing efforts on priority locations where branches or trees are blocking streets," the website says.

Some of the debris is the responsibility of the city, but some isn't.

What is a publicly-owned tree?

The city says a publicly-owned tree is one that's in a boulevard or median, or in a city-owned park.

Everything else is privately owned and therefore the responsibility of the property-owner to clean up.

What do I do with a fallen tree or branch in a public space?

The city says, if a tree is in contact with a power line, to call 911 immediately.

If a tree is blocking a public right-of-way including a road or sidewalk, but isn't touching a power line, call 311.

If a tree on public property has fallen, but isn't not touching a power line or blocking the road, contact 311 online.

The city is asking for as much accurate detail as possible when providing information so that service requests are properly triaged.

What do I do with fallen trees and branches on private property?

Trees and branches that have fallen on private property are the responsibility of the property owner to clean up.

However, the city said they should call 911 immediately if the tree is in contact with a power line.

But what do I do with debris?

The city tweeted this morning that people can bring debris from fallen trees to any 4R depot to dispose of them free of charge during operating hours.

It's asking people not to leave trees and branches on the public boulevard.