If you were suffering from nothing-to-do syndrome, you may have found a solution in the storm that raged through the valley Tuesday evening knocking down fences, rolling playground equipment down streets, uprooting trees, tearing limbs from others and sending them flying across neighborhoods.

Residents all over Tooele Valley spent Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning with chain saws in hand removing branches and finishing the job that Mother Nature so rudely began.

The first thing to determine is whether or not the job you are facing is too big for you. If the tree you are facing is anywhere near power lines, do not go near it. Call the power company. They have arborists trained to work safely on trees around power lines. Each year, people are killed while trying to prune by power lines. Even when personal injury does not result, there is often serious financial loss when amateur pruners drop limbs onto the wires. These wires must then be repaired or replaced -- often at considerable expense. You would then be liable for such damages.

If the tree is very large or very unsteady, attempting to prune it is very dangerous. Never climb into trees with chain saws nor try to operate such saws from the top of ladders. Contact a professional with proper equipment and training to care for damage on large trees.

This is another time to call an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) certified arborist. To become a certified arborist, these people take extensive training in tree care and safety. They are trained to assess the damage and make recommendations as to whether a tree should be removed or if it can be repaired with proper pruning.

If you are dealing with a tree that has already come down, the decision is made. Cut up the tree and remove it or get someone to do it for you. If there is a stump or large roots left in the ground, you may need to remove them as they could send up shoots later.

Many trees lost branches in the winds Tuesday. Repairs range from minor pruning to tree removal. Many people have already been outside cutting off damaged branches before they fall and hurt someone, or cause more damage to the tree. Prompt attention to damage will make the tree more attractive and much safer. This isn't the ideal season for pruning, but hazard branches and dead -- or soon-to-be dead -- branches can come off any time.

In many cases, branches broken from the top remain attached by bark at the bottom. Cut the branches through the bark from the bottom so that the bark will not tear away from the tree as the branch falls. Remove damaged branches promptly so they do not tear into the wood and leave large, open wounds in the tree that encourage diseases and insects to enter.

If the break occurred in mid-branch, cut the broken part loose and then remove the stub to the trunk. Prune correctly. Always prune to the thickened area around the base of the branch where it attaches to the tree. This is known as the branch bark ridge. Leave the ridge on the tree as it provides the tissue to close the wound. Cutting flush against the tree removes that tissue, delays wound closing and opens up the tree to more decay. If a branch has broken into the tree or has stripped the bark down the side of the tree, remove it the best that you can, realizing that it is a less-than-ideal pruning job.

Whenever doing any corrective pruning, remember that most plants look best when they grow to a natural shape without undue or extreme changes to that shape. Sometimes removal is the best option.

Let the tree do the rest. Do not paint over the wound with tree paint, tar or any other sealant. Tree paint is not only unnecessary, it may damage the tree. Sunshine and fresh air are the best disinfectants available. The tree will grow over the wound over time and compartmentalize the damage.

Split limbs or trunks on small trees can be repaired if the damage is caught in time. Never try to wrap ropes or wires or anything around the limbs or trunks as they will girdle the plants and kill them. If the branch appears salvageable, or if the trunk has split and appears salvageable, the best method is to pull the damaged branches back together and align them as closely as possible. Drill holes clear through the branches and insert threaded rods or bolts through the holes. Put washers and nuts on each end and tighten them to pull the branches back together. The bolts are left in place permanently and the trees will eventually grow over the metal. Remember that the metal is there so when it is time to remove the tree a few years down the road, don't hit the metal with a chain saw.

Larger branches are often braced with steel cables but as with all larger trees, that job should be done by a professional arborist.

The most serious storm damage tends to come to fast-growing trees with weak wood and those that develop a poor branch structure. Among the most easily damaged are Siberian elms, which have wood that is brittle and weak. Their normal growth has many large branches coming from one point on the trunk and when these break, it often destroys the entire tree.

Russian olives, willows, cottonwoods and poplars are also very susceptible. Although quaking aspens and Lombardy popular have weak wood, they show fewer problems because of their narrow upright shape. Although many Lombardy poplars lost limbs this week, very few were broken or suffered serious damage. Bradford pears are also easily damaged because they have many branches coming out at narrow angles from the same point on the trunk. The newer cultivars of the flowering pears show fewer problems because they have a stronger branch structure.

Trees that are least likely to be damaged include oaks, gingkoes, honey locusts and upright conifers.