Alabama residents hope to save some trees knocked down by Hurricane Sally

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    Mobile, AL (WALA) — Aside from the widespread power outages — Hurricane Sally really left her mark on downtown’s Bienville Square.

The massive oaks that once towered over Bienville Square were no match for Sally.

“It’s crazy… So many trees down,” said one woman.

“The light — one of the biggest things was the light that was coming through the day after… The tree canopy was gone,” said one woman.

In his flyover on Wednesday with the Coast Guard — Mayor Sandy Stimpson got a birdseye view.

“Bienville Square stood out like a sore thumb,” said Mayor Stimpson.

While progress has been made, the park which usually welcomes so many is still a disaster area. Even the squirrels seem confused.

“I think they are territorial right now… They are staring you down. They don’t want you to come in and get any of their acorns that have fallen,” said one woman.

With power restored — the priority in Mobile now shifts to debris removal. A long-term plan for the park is still in the works.

“We’ve lost several trees… There is no foliage. So the number of squirrels we’ve got… I’m not sure what the game plan going forward is… But we are going to have to do something differently than what we’ve been doing in the past,” Mayor Stimpson said on Thursday.

Meanwhile, in terms of cleanup there is still a lot of work left to be done in Bienville Square. As that process moves forward — everyone is hopeful they can save as many trees as possible.

“I don’t want to see a whole lot of them go… Because that’s just part of what downtown is — but I think some of them might have to go,” said one woman.

“Hopefully there are a lot that are still okay. I know they’ve been out here looking at them. And I’ve heard rumors that people want to cut them down and start over. I think that is a mistake. I think they really need to go tree by tree,” said one woman.

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