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Tree-Removal Companies Backlogged After This Week's Storms

MOUNT PROSPECT, Ill. (CBS) -- The backlog to clear storm-downed trees in some neighborhoods may be as long as two weeks.

So many trees were toppled in Mount Prospect that finding a crew to clear away the debris is a challenge.

"You want to get something done right away - it ain't happening," Tom Frasier of Arlington Arborists tells CBS 2's Vince Gerasole. "You'll need a week to come out there and look at it and two weeks to get it done."

That's not good news to resident Alex Buchek, whose property has three uprooted trees. His home was spared.

With so many power lines twisted like yarn and poles slammed to the ground, the lights were still out for thousands.

Police continued to direct motorists at nine intersections where traffic lights are out. Businesses along a blacked-out business strip are coping too.

At Century Tile, they were trying to get work done as daylight filtered through the front windows.

"You don't have computers, you don't have phones," says Dave Simon, who estimates the business is losing "a lot of money."

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