The sight of a sturdy tree toppled through a red-brick home in Sacramento’s core prompted residents walking by to shake their heads Monday and take pictures of the destruction.
Debris — thick branches, leaves and dirt — lined the streets of the Curtis Park neighborhood after powerful winds buffeted the capital region for more than eight hours Sunday. Meteorologists with the National Weather Service station said gusts reached nearly 70 mph in some places amid strong sustained, howling winds from the second of back-to-back atmospheric river storms.
“I just don’t expect a big sturdy-looking tree like this to fall down,” said area resident Matt Jacobs.
Another nearby resident, Kristina Baca, 19, said neighbors poured out of their homes after hearing the towering tree topple. She added the homeowner of the residence was yelling as it came down, prompting even more worry for her about what happened.
“That’s pretty scary,” Baca said, who heard the tree crash late Sunday afternoon.
Two homes in the Southside Park section of downtown also suffered major damage Sunday after a tree tumbled into their roofs. Crews worked on Monday to remove damaged trunks and shred branches filling streets.
No fatalities have been reported in the city of Sacramento due to falling trees, but they can be deadly. Elsewhere across Northern California, three men were killed when struck by trees that were pushed over by the storm, including a Carmichael man who died at a hospital Sunday after a tree was felled by gusts in his backyard.
Michael Love, 66, another Curtis Park resident, said he felt relatively safe from a tree crashing into his home as he used a leaf blower to clear his lawn of debris. That’s because he calls the city to check trees and keeps his gutters clean.
But, there’s still a cost to pay while living under a canopy of leaves.
Love still worries about a branch hitting a car, taking out a windshield. And, despite his preventative work, it only took about one hour on Sunday to fill gutters again with leaves from a swaying eucalyptus tree just across the street.
“That’s a concern,” Love said of trees becoming older.
The Curtis Park neighborhood saw numerous trees falling in last year’s storms — Jacobs said a tree crashed near his home on Montgomery Street last year. This year, several trees were felled, including one at 3rd Avenue and 22nd Street around 7:30 p.m.
Residents said they’ve had arborists come to ensure trees are sturdy — but there’s only so much they can do.
“Even people that maintain them as best they can, a tree can still topple over in the high wind,” Love said.
Arborists who fanned out across the capital region in the wake of the storm’s worst blamed climate change and prolonged drought conditions over the past decade for another round of destruction in the City of Trees.
Al Harrison, a certified arborist assessing damage after a redwood tree snapped in half in nearby Carmichael, said a lack of water can make the live timber less flexible and unable to sway with near-hurricane-force winds.
“It compromises the structural stability in a big way,” Harrison said.
The Bee’s Sam Stanton contributed to this story.
Amanda Smith is a dedicated U.S. correspondent with a passion for uncovering the stories that shape the nation. With a background in political science, she provides in-depth analysis and insightful commentary on domestic affairs, ensuring readers are well-informed about the latest developments across the United States.
