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Savannah’s signature tree canopy gets bushwhacked by Matthew

Ryder Delaney, far right, age 9, climbs on the uprooted trunk of large tree toppled in Forsyth Park as his father, Nigel Delaney, hold the hand of the boy's younger sister, Yasmin, in Savannah, Ga., on Monday, Oct. 10, 2016. Hurricane Matthew bushwhacked Savannah when it swiped the Georgia coast over the weekend, causing extensive damage to the city's signature tree canopy. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum) Ryder Delaney, far right, age 9, climbs on the uprooted trunk of large tree toppled in Forsyth Park as his father, Nigel Delaney, hold the hand of the boy's younger sister, Yasmin, in Savannah, Ga., on Monday, Oct. 10, 2016. Hurricane Matthew bushwhacked Savannah when it swiped the Georgia coast over the weekend, causing extensive damage to the city's signature tree canopy. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum)

By Associated Press October 11, 2016 1 min read

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) – Savannah’s signature tree canopy is a disheveled mess after getting bushwhacked by Hurricane Matthew.

The storm spared the historic homes and churches of Georgia’s oldest city, founded in 1733. But Savannah’s dense urban forest of magnolias, azaleas and gnarled live oaks draped with Spanish moss took the brunt of the storm’s fury.

Matthew uprooted century-old oaks in the city’s manicured squares and smothered parks and roadways in a carpet of fallen branches and leaves.

Gordon Denney, Savannah’s Park and Tree Department director, says it could be a while before city workers get to clean up the parks and squares because the priority goes to trees on homes and roads.

But some residents aren’t waiting. Volunteers with rakes and saws started cleaning up squares within hours after Matthew passed.