DECATUR - John Mikels considers himself lucky that the mature trees in his back yard did not suffer the fate of the large maple tree in front of his house in the 400 block of South Edward Street.

"That's our bedroom upstairs," Mikels said Wednesday, indicating an area overhung by big limbs that could have pierced his roof had they fallen. He and two friends were finishing as much of the cleanup of the shattered maple tree as they could handle.

A sizeable trunk remained to be cut up, but much of the fallen giant had been bucked into 8-foot lengths and piled on the curb for city crews to remove. Mikels said he would keep some wood for his own use.

"One piece fell that way," Mikels said, pointing northwest. "Another fell across the driveway (south) and another limb went into the street (east). We were completely blocked in."

His neighbors didn't fare any better, with limbs down everywhere.

With only four houses in the 400 block of South Edward before the street dead ends, Mikels said the residents figured they had better get the tree limbs out of the street themselves rather than wait for the city to act.

Piles of wood materialized on curbsides throughout Decatur on Wednesday after the city announced Tuesday that crews would start picking up debris.

Assistant City Manager Billy Tyus said six city crews were working on the pickup Wednesday, and the city of Champaign had offered to send men and equipment to help. He said that assistance was expected to arrive as early as today.

"If people have trees with broken limbs on boulevards which are posing a hazard, they should call us," Tyus said. "We'll get there as soon as possible, but don't expect us to be right out."

The number to call is 875-4820.

The volume of calls the city already had received as of Wednesday afternoon was staggering, Tyus said. The city is seeking additional help and may hire tree services from other communities to assist with dangerous trees on boulevards, help that could be here as early as Friday, he said.

Limbs and wood are being taken to two sites that Tyus declined to reveal. He said because the county has been declared a disaster area by the state, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has issued the city a permit to burn the debris, which it will do at one of the sites. He said the burn must be continuously monitored.

Also, the city has obtained an air curtain destructor, a sandlike substance that will be spread over the burning debris and which eliminates most of the smoke and particulate matter that normally would escape into the air, Tyus said.

Private tree cutting services have been out in force throughout the community since last week's winter storm abated.

Charlie Ropp, co-owner of the Elwin Tree Farm, was working with a crew in the 400 block of South Delmar Avenue on Wednesday. He said his firm usually sticks with tree planting rather than tree removal.

"We're just doing this on the side to help people out," Ropp said.

The varieties of trees with the most damage appeared to be elms and silver maples, although among ornamentals, Bradford pears suffered heavily, Ropp said.

"This spring we'll be planting a lot of trees, a lot of Aristocrat pears, which are much hardier than the Bradford pears," he said.

The scope of the damage is overwhelming in places, Ropp said, noting his crew spent Monday and Tuesday at one house and only completed about half the needed tree cleanup.

A crew for Romer Brothers Tree Service of Decatur was working Wednesday morning in the 1000 block of West Main Street adjacent to The Winery, clearing dead and broken limbs from a huge elm tree.

"We're just trying to get all the hangers out that could fall on people's heads," said James Marksberry, a crew member who was shoving limbs into a chipper. He said the resulting wood chips were being taken to the Macon County composting facility on Bearsdale Road.

A lot of people, especially in rural areas, continue to be without power and are heating their homes with wood-burning stoves, Marksberry said. Despite all the downed limbs and trees, many people are buying wood, he said.

"We can't keep enough wood split and the racks filled," he said. "It's first come, first served."

Despite the massive cleanup effort, Marksberry had a prediction: "We'll definitely be finishing the tree cleanup well into spring."

Ron Ingram can be reached at ringram@herald-review.com or 421-7973.