Town of Okotoks Parks crews have been busy in the last few days.

The storm from earlier this week left tree branches strewn about local streets and pathways and even toppled a few trees.

Crews were quick to mobilize on Tuesday when the wind first picked up, with around 20 personnel focused on larger debris and obstructions.

They stuck to manicured trees in park areas and avenues, with fallen trees in the river valley left as they were unless they were blocking a pathway.

Most of the major debris was found, cleared, and chipped, with smaller leftovers to be mulched during routine mowing.

The work isn't over just yet though.

"One of the things we've noticed here due to the moisture, the trees, some of them, have tilted towards the east without falling over. We'll have to go around and assess all these trees and determine whether they can be saved or need to be removed. There still could be more removals depending on our assessment when we get to those trees," says White.

For Okotokians with leaning trees on their property, White says locals should only act if it looks like a hazard.

"For leaning trees, a lot of people want to take them and try to straighten them up, but a stake is like a crutch. If the stake or the crutch stays there for a long period of time and then you take it away, the tree doesn't develop roots to support it. Trees develop roots and grow based on the forces of wind, so if a tree is leaning and hasn't uprooted, it's really important to have an arborist, a professional, inspect to see if it's a high risk. If the tree looks like it's still well anchored, just leave it and they will correct themselves."

As for branches that might be laying around in your yard, if they're shorter than one metre long, they can be placed in the green bin, whereas larger ones must be taken to the landfill.

Leaning trees that may present a hazard, as well as major obstructions can be reported to the parks team at (403) 938-8958.