Thousands of Davey line clearance employees are working in areas along the Gulf Coast that have been devastated by Hurricane Ike, and additional crews are working tirelessly to help clean up and restore power throughout the Midwest and East Coast where Ike's path has caused further damage.

"We are committed to assisting the communities of Galveston, Houston, and the numerous other areas impacted by Hurricane Ike," said Karl Warnke, Davey president and CEO. "Our employee-owners are dedicated to assisting utilities, municipalities and local residents with clean-up and recovery efforts."

To ensure immediate response, crews were dispatched to Texas late last week before Hurricane Ike made landfall. Since then, Davey employees have been trimming and removing trees from power lines to help restore power to millions of residents.

The storm response has been a collaborative effort of Davey employees, including line clearance and recovery specialists, and damage assessment specialists from the Davey Resource Group.

"We feel fortunate that we are able to assist in this time of need," said Steve Marshall, Davey executive vice president of operations. "Our crews are determined to help restore power as quickly and safely as possible."

According to Pat Covey, executive vice president of operations, the company also is assisting residential and commercial customers who have suffered property damage from Hurricane Ike's strong wind gusts.

"As a long-time member of the Houston community, we have dedicated significant resources to serve local residents. Davey arborists also are providing storm recovery services to communities across Ike's northeastern path," Covey said.

The Davey Tree Expert Company provides tree, shrub and lawn care, large tree moving, grounds management, vegetation management and consulting services throughout North America. Founded in 1880, Davey has more than 7,000 employees.