June Update from Friends of Duboce Park:
A huge tree at the corner of Steiner Street and Duboce Avenue fell onto Noe Street on Saturday, May 7 at about 1 p.m. Another large tree fell two weeks later. There were no injuries in either incident and some damage to a few cars on Noe Street on May 7.
The whole root system came out of the ground on May 7 which allowed Recreation and Park officials to conduct a full inspection. Neighbors wondered if there was any chance of another tree falling. Here is report that Eric Andersen, Park Services Manager for our area, made after the first event:
“I consulted with Rec and Park’s chief arborist, Kelly Cornell, on the recent tree failure at Duboce Park. The chief arborist and I both were on site the day that the Monterey Cypress was uprooted and were able to inspect the situation. RPD’s arborist crew performed the cleanup operation that day. We observed no apparent structural defects in the tree that could have been considered causal factors. The tree was completely uprooted that day due to strong wind conditions. The chief arborist observed that the root system appeared to be quite healthy.”
“The canopy of the tree has always appeared to be quite healthy, with no apparent signs of disease, above or below ground. I also noted that the soil profile was quite dry in the area. The recent warm, dry weather had led to fairly dry soil conditions throughout the park. Wet soil conditions do not appear to have been a cause for the failure of the tree.
In short, the tree appears to have been quite healthy. We were unable to note any readily identifiable causal factors other than the weather conditions. I would note that wind conditions that day were quite extreme. There were at least a few trees downed throughout the city.”
Then, on May 20, another huge tree fell near the Potomac Street entrance to the park. Supervisor Wiener was aware of these events and asked Rec and Park General Manager Phil Ginsburg to investigate. Another full review of all of the trees in the park was done a few days later. Here is a brief statement from Eric Andersen:
“Do to two recent tree failures, Rec and Park carried out a hazard inspection of the trees in Duboce Park. The main causal factor in the recent loss of trees appears to be a period of prolonged high winds. The trees that fell were in otherwise healthy condition, with no major structural flaws. The recent inspection revealed that the majority of trees in the park are in good condition, although most require some degree of routine maintenance. The inspection found several trees that are a higher priority for pruning or removal. None of these trees were considered to present an immediate hazard. A more detailed report will be available shortly.”
