GEORGE – Century-old trees came crashing down across George after devastating storms uprooted hundreds of trees, displaced wildlife and left extensive clean-up operations for residents, businesses and municipal teams.

Among the destruction were trees believed to be between 80 and 100 years old at the historic George Golf Club, where more than 260 trees were uprooted during the severe weather.

At the same time, rescue efforts have been underway to protect displaced chameleons and other wildlife found among fallen trees and branches, with residents and environmental groups urging the public to handle the reptiles responsibly.

Tree-felling companies across the region have been inundated with emergency call-outs following what the Garden Route District Municipality described as the worst flooding and storm damage the Garden Route has experienced in 30 years.

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George-based tree-felling company The Branch Manager said it received hundreds of job requests after the storm and currently face a waiting list of 85 confirmed clients, with delays expected to stretch for weeks.

According to director Etienne Cilliers, crews have spent days clearing roads, removing trees from homes and assisting stranded residents.

“We had quite a few trees on houses, on fences, on gates and on cars,” said Cilliers.

“Between 30% and 50% of the trees we have dealt with were on houses, through houses, in living rooms and in garages.”

He said the company’s 13-member crew had already removed more than 165 trees for private residents alone, excluding municipal work and emergency road clearances.

“On the first day we had to cut open six municipal roads just to get to sites,” he shared.

Cilliers said the combination of saturated ground and strong winds contributed to the scale of the destruction.

He added that cypress trees, pin oaks and pine trees were among the trees hardest hit during the storm.

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“In terms of wildlife, the main thing I noticed was that there were quite a few chameleons,” said Cilliers. “What we tried to do while working was to be conscious of the chameleons and move them to nearby trees.”

He explained that rescuing the reptiles required careful handling because of their territorial behaviour.

“They are quite territorial, so you can’t go and plonk 100 chameleons onto one tree because they will end up killing each other.”

Cilliers said groups of residents had also joined efforts to carefully relocate the reptiles.

“There are actually groups of people sifting through material and placing the chameleons in nearby places, which has been very nice to see.”

CapeNature stressed that only animals directly threatened by tree or branch removal should be rescued.

“Chameleons play an important role in ecosystems and should not be removed unnecessarily from their natural habitat, including urban environments,” the organisation said in a statement.

“Only animals found on fallen branches or trees, or on trees that have been earmarked for removal, should be rescued,” the organisation said.

Meanwhile, the historic George Golf Club continues extensive recovery operations after suffering severe damage across the course.

Club chairman Daryl Austin said between 263 and 300 trees had fallen, with pine and gum trees among the hardest hit.

“The course itself is 120 years old and some of the trees that fell were around 80 to 100 years old. We built the golf course around them,” Austin shared.

“In some of the archives I went through from the 1930s, you can already see those trees in the photographs.”

Austin said the combination of saturated ground following around 250mm of rain and powerful winds contributed to the destruction.

“The big trees were mostly affected by the wind, while the smaller ones survived,” he said.

“We have cleared branches on some of the greens and started repair work already. We are cognisant that the storm has hit the entire George, so gaining access to tree fellers to assist us has been difficult.”

Austin said the club was working around the clock to reopen the full course within two weeks.

ALSO READ: CapeNature warns against unnecessary chameleon removal after Garden Route storms