The City has decided to immediately remove a mature Sugar Gum eucalyptus tree, which suddenly and without warning dropped a limb weighing more than 7 tons early Saturday morning in Spreckels Park. The decision was made after careful review and consideration of public safety concerns as well as a public meeting held Tuesday.
Work will begin to remove the tree on Thursday (October 15th, 2015).
The City’s contract arborist determined “sudden branch drop” was the primary cause for the limb failure of the 60-foot, approximately 100-year-old tree. The arborist said the limb showed signs of decay, which was most likely a contributing factor. The tree was re-characterized by the arborist from “possible” to “probable” in its likelihood of failure in the next two years. The consequence of failure was rated as “severe” by the arborist.
All eucalyptus trees in Spreckels Park were fully assessed two years ago and are set to be reevaluated again.
The arborist’s assessment finds the tree to be removed presents a “moderate risk” with no practical ways to mitigate the risk without significantly disfiguring the tree. The City agrees with that assessment and its consequences and deems the tree an unacceptable risk to public safety due to the high use of the popular park.
The City works tirelessly to maintain its urban forest of more than 8,700 trees that grow on public areas, including parkways. Coronado became a Tree City USA in 1984 for its active urban forest management program and, in 1993, formed the Street Tree Committee to provide input to the City Council and educate the public on the role trees play in the urban environment. The Committee also maintains the Tree Master Plan and a list of approved street trees.
Coronado actively monitors, maintains and inspects its trees, particularly the larger ones. The City does not treat tree removals lightly. However, public safety is the City’s highest priority.Eucalyptus trees are known to drop branches in the summer or to fall over without warning. Several California cities have had serious injuries, even deaths, due to falling trees and limbs.
Most of the tree should be removed by the end of the day on Friday. Due to a scheduled event on Saturday in the park, the stump will be cut flush to the ground but not removed until a later date.
