Photo by Benton R.
A large tree uprooted itself and fell over on Funston Avenue near Clement Street around 4:15pm on Sunday afternoon.
A reader passing by when it happened heard “a large crack and thump” as the tree fell over onto a parked SUV, also knocking off the bicycle that was on its rear rack. The tree fell well into the street, blocking traffic. No one was injured in the incident.
SFPD and a Park Ranger arrived on the scene, trying to locate the owner of the vehicle. As of 5:15pm, the tree is still being cleared from the street.
Falling eucalyptus are not uncommon along the Park Presidio beltway. One fell near Geary in May 2013 and a giant one crushed a car in 2009.
Sarah B.
Photo by Benton R.
Photo by Benton R.
Must be a slow news day. Now here’s another excuse for people to complain about how the trees pose such a danger to the fossil fuels community. Never mind that the trees help dissipate the noxious fumes and everything else emanating from these gas guzzlers
It will be about another 23 years before the greenbelt is allocated any funds for maintenance by City Hall; there was pruning less than 10 years ago. Remember there are zero licensed Arborists on the City payroll. Lack of water is also probably slowly killing the trees.
Good to know!
A little history for today. The reason they used eucalyptus trees is because
A) they are drought resistant
B) they could take root in the sandy soil of the area and
C) they are fast growing.
All good points if you are trying to keep what top soil there is in place. The problem is that they have no natural enemies here. In Australia, forest fires burn back the trees, but don’t kill them. I remember reading someplace that visitors from Australia have said they never have seen eucalyptus trees that tall.
Well, a huge tree branch also fell onto the stairs leading into the playground at 10th/Fulton Street on Saturday afternoon around 4p.m.. Huge boom and crack as the branch broke other trees on its way down. Thankfully nobody was hurt – but it wasn’t cleaned up until yesterday due to the holiday weekend. I think we need to fund tree maintenance.
Cleanup is performed by Groundskeepers, they are a different job classification than Gardener and Arborist. If the cleanup is done by DPW there are other job classifications.
Each job classification strictly limits how high an individual may climb a ladder or structure, precisely which equipment they are allowed to be trained to use, what promotions are to be given when new equipment is acquired and training is offered, etc. There are many thousands of job classifications; perhaps they could be modernized.
Thank heaven no one was hurt. Who’s responsible for keeping the public safe from falling trees…DPW, Rec and Park, both, neither?
@Thomas – It’s, er, complicated. 🙂 The Park Presidio is technically federal because Highway 1 runs through it. But SF Rec & Park take care of the maintenance of the greenbelt itself on an ongoing basis. But when something like this happens, DPW is often brought in to actually clear the tree. The more the merrier! 😉
Sarah B.