Guitar bridge lifting should I take the strings off?

Question

I was about to put my Great Divide acoustic guitar in the back of my car when someone said something to me and I got distracted (you can see where this is going). I then proceeded to back out of my driveway and crash into a fully loaded seven passenger two ton minivan.

Luckily the damage wasn't as bad as it could have been (shout out to Road * Runner for making awesome cases!) the body got about a four inch long Crack in it. When I took it to the shop today the guy said the bridge was also lifting (He said that might not have been because of the car).

My question is: should I take the strings off to relive the tension on the bridge?

Answer 1

They're going to have to come off to mend the thing, so why hesitate? Get 'em off!

Answer 2

Lifting bridge comes from the glue coming loose. It's a common thing. If it was in the shop, though, why didn't you ask the shop guy?

If it was mine, I'd at least loosen the strings until I could get it into the shop. The crack is reparable but might not matter much; consider Willie Nelson's Trigger.