KCP&L's pre-winter tree trimming helped reduced power outages during Thursday's snow storm

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City Power & Light says its pre-winter tree trimming helped reduce the number of power outages during Thursday's snow storm.

Although more than 40,000 customers had lost power, KCP&L officials said that number could have been a lot worse had they not trimmed tree branches.

Sam Segraves lives off Main Street in Waldo and says more than 100 trees in his neighborhood have turned from a pleasant spectacle to an awkward eyesore.

"They came through and cut all the smaller branches out and left only the big ones," Segraves said. "It's like a big hole through the center of the trees now."

Despite the awkward look, Segraves and neighbor Heather Baker say they'd rather have trees with no branches than homes with no power.

"We've been without power from the last ice storm that we had. For over a week, we were without power," Baker said. "So I'm glad they cut them back."

"I guess it did help," Segraves added. "When the snow came down, we didn't have any major power outages or anything. For most people if their power goes out, they're in big trouble."

KCP&L officials said after a storm like Thursday's, crews would typically have to call additional sub-contracted companies to assist in tree trimming. However, because of the preventative measures, no extra help was needed.