The numerous tree branches downed from Sunday’s early morning snowstorm are nearly cleaned up and most walking paths on campus have been cleared.

“The tree damage was unusual, but the amount of heavy snow really built up weight on the branches,” said Dennis Erickson, manager of Campus Services.

Erickson said he expects most tree debris to be cleaned up by this afternoon.

About 20 Campus Services employees have been working since Monday to clean sidewalks and university property of the many branches left after the storm.

Trees had to be pruned where there branches broke off, Erickson said.

Most of the debris, he said, will end up in a chipper for use as mulch.

Chipping all the fallen tree branches will take the rest of the week.

“There are much easier ways to obtain mulch for the campus, though,” he said.

After clean-up is finished, there will be an assessment of trees on campus to see if any are structurally unsound, he said.

Any questionable branches will be pruned to prevent them from becoming a possible hazard in the future.

Although Campus Services was well prepared for the amount of snow that accumulated on campus Sunday, Erickson said the extensive tree damage was not expected.

Jeff Iles, assistant professor of horticulture, also attributed the tree branch damage to heavy snow piling on the leaves.

“The tree branches can only take so much weight,” he said.

Iles said trees that had internal decay would be especially vulnerable to the weight of the snow. He said he noticed many downed branches had internal decay.

Iles said wind also played a significant factor in the damage.

“We’ve had worse tree damage in the past,” Erickson said, “but this will alter the appearance of the campus, especially in areas such as the Lagomarcino courtyard area.”

However, there was minimal building and property damage, Iles said.

Most of the trees will weather this storm without permanent damage, Iles said, as long as the trees are trimmed properly.

Trees split because of the storm will probably not recover, he said.

Although there was extensive damage done to many trees on campus, “it reminds us of how valuable our trees [on campus] are,” Iles said.