The June 21 storm may have scattered its damage more than the May, 2011 North Side tornado but the tree loss appears to be higher.

That's the assessment of Ralph Sievert, forestry director for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. He's estimating about 3,000 trees were lost in the public realm, which includes boulevards and parks, compared to 2,600 in the tornado. But the tornado created a more visually striking loss because damage was concentrated in strips.

Park Board tree crews are looking forward to only their third day off in the three weeks since the storm hit. That comes Sunday. They got July 4 and one other Sunday off. Sievert said 51 park employees are involved in the storm cleanup.

Meanwhile the nonprofit foundation supporting parks is dedicating the profits from its Sept. 8 5K race at Lake Harriet toward replanting tres in parks and boulevards. People for Parks hopes to raise at least $7,00, according to spokeswoman Felicity Britton.

More information about the race is available at www.peopleforparks.net .