Thomas Quintero said his concerns began Sunday night when his neighbor's son was taking out the trash and noticed something concerning coming from the tree in Quintero's front yard.
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"He (the neighbor's son) heard some kind of buzzing noises in the background and looked up at my tree. That's when he saw there were little embers falling off of the tree and onto the ground," Quintero said. "The neighbor came over to my house, rang the doorbell, and told me that I needed to get out of here."
Quintero called the fire department, who responded and then advised him to call CenterPoint Energy to get the tree trimmed and mitigate the fire risk. He claims the power company told him it would be two weeks before they could get crews out there.
"It's just really unsettling when you see sparks falling onto your driveway and lawn. Then you hear about these weather advisories on the news. Anything could just spark up in the middle of the night, and your whole house, your whole neighborhood, could go up in flames," he said. "I couldn't sleep well at all. I needed something to happen."
That's when Quintero reached out to Action 13 for help. Neighbors said the dry grass and extreme heat are what worried them the most, making them emphasize the need to address this issue immediately.
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Hours after ABC13 contacted CenterPoint, crews showed up and trimmed several branches off the tree. Quintero said he and his neighbors will hopefully be able to rest a little easier tonight.
"I didn't feel like I could go anywhere else because I had already gone to Centerpoint and called the fire department. Someone's got to help me, and I'm so thankful for ABC13. I really appreciate it," he said.
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