1 dead After massive Oak Tree, Estimated at 100K Pounds, Falls on Encino Home. neighbor had concerns

[Demovictory9]

A tree, weighing in at 100,000 pounds according to firefighters, came crashing down on a home in Encino late Sunday night, resulting in the death of one man.





A tree fell on a home in Encino, trapping two people and a dog who were able to escape, and killing a 60-year-old man.

Firefighters from the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the call around 11 p.m. on Sunday, and arrived to see that the huge oak tree had fallen, with great force, on a two-story home on Odessa Avenue.


The Urban Search and Rescue team, along with 30 firefighters, assisted those inside the home.

Two women, and the family dog, were trapped on the first floor. They were able to escape with the assistance of the fire department.

A man in his 60s was found on the second floor of the home, killed by the tree's collapse.

It's too early to say what caused the tree to fall in the first place, but firefighters say it does not appear to be related to the weather.

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https://ktla.com/news/local-news/man-killed-when-massive-tree-crashes-through-encino-home-in-middle-of-night/

Although winds were calm Sunday night, strong gusts did blow through the region just last week.

Neighbor Tony Montero said he often expressed concerns to his wife that the tree looked dangerous.

“It was leaning directly over the house … it was probably 30 degrees,” Montero said.

Kevin Franks said the family has followed the rules set forth by the city to maintaining the tree, including working with an arborist and using chains to “keep stuff from falling.”

[hlthe2b]

1. That is so sad. I can understand the reluctance to remove such a massive tree...

but I have to wonder about the advice they were given. Did the owner refuse under any circumstances to remove so that the experts just do what they hoped would help-- or were they genuinely mistaken?

[Demovictory9]

2. or maybe they didnt want to pay for removal... probably $3000 ???

[tecelote]

5. That's my guess as well.

[KT2000]

7. I would guess more

that $3000. That is a huge tree.

[Polybius]

9. Encino is a mega rich area

$3,000 is probably like me paying $50.

[Cracklin Charlie]

12. I paid $6500 last summer to remove a giant oak tree.

And that price was for us to split and haul away the wood.

It was about 10 feet from my house. It was good and straight, but chunks of it were starting to fall off kind of randomly. The next chunk to go (seemed to me) was a large branch hanging over the house.

I called a service expert in large tree removal. The whole tree was down in three days. My nephew and friends split and hauled off the wood to sell, after leaving us a lot for our fireplace.

[Demovictory9]

20. Yikes..thats a lot but worth it given this story

[Cracklin Charlie]

22. Yes.

Especially since that branch hanging over my house was black inside when they cut it. I planted a Japanese maple, further away, to replace it.

[panader0]

19. I'll bet the lumber in that tree is worth more than 3 Gs.

[MissB]

4. One tends to trust the experts

We had a massive oak branch drop during an ice storm in February. A few months later, the arborist we’ve used for years and years finally made it over (they were super busy post-storm).

The oak tree leans a bit but the arborist says it is just looking for light. No danger of falling.

The arborist we hire comes over every two years and looks at all the trees on our half acre property. We have a lot of giant trees, mostly fir but some oak and a couple of maples too. He evaluates each one and lets us know what needs to be done.

We aren’t the experts; he is. We keep his reports on file.

The branch we lost this year struck the house, pounded in the stakes of some temporary fencing (t-posts, dropped them 2’ more into the ground), took out a 16’ high beautiful red maple (want to say Japanese but it probably wasn’t - had delicate leaves). The only damage was to the porch decking where it struck and took out a small 6”x8” section of the end of the boards. It struck the roof but didn’t damage it. Was a scary night.

[llmart]

6. More likely they didn't have the money.

It's extremely expensive to take a big tree down. I just shelled out almost $4,000 to take out two big trees on my property. I have a small lot - 50' x 125' and there were five big trees planted on just this tiny lot. I live in a neighborhood of detached condos that were built thirty years ago. There are all sorts of bylaws, some of which are just downright silly nonsense, but not one mention of how many trees can be planted or what species. I've suggested to the condo board that they specify the variety of tree a homeowner can plant, but they pretty much blow it off. Can't be bothered. So people being what they are, are too ignorant to do a little research on what type tree to plant or they say, "I don't care. I won't be here when it gets too big." This is a senior community for the most part.

[Polybius]

10. Encino is a wealthy area though

More than likely he had the money but lollygagged.

[PlanetBev]

14. Not all of Encino is wealthy

Depends on which side of Ventura Blvd you live. I grew up there, on the wealthier south side up in the hills. The north side in the flat area is more middle class.

The oak tree is a symbol of Encino. In 1999, the Lang Oak on Louise Avenue fell around 2:30am. Nobody was hurt, thank goodness. It was estimated to be a 1,000 years old and was considered to be the showpiece of Encino. Nothing there now but a stump and a commemorative plaque where it once was. That was one big tree, boy. Broke my heart.

[Demovictory9]

21. I lived Sherman oaks / Tarzana..many are house wealthy

Valuable homes doesnt mean money for tree removal

[Demovictory9]

24. my hoa board strictly controls trees

[LisaL]

18. The tree was owned by the city, not the family (per the son in the video linked in the OP).

So the city was the owner of it.
These are protected trees. I am not sure family could have removed it even if they wanted to. The city presumably would have to remove it if it was deemed unsafe (and I guess it wasn't deemed unsafe).

[rainin]

3. He may not have had the money to take it down.

We have two enormous trees that need to come down. We had someone out to bid the job yesterday: $3500 per tree. Not only that, we have to get our neighbors to sign off to allow us to have a crane in front of our house all day because it'll block access to their homes. We've needed to get these trees down for years. We're hoping we can finally make it happen.

[melm00se]

11. That's a lot of board feet

of lumber and in this market worth quite a bit.

[Progressive Jones]

13. A tree guy took down a giant Honey Locust tree at my place.

He did it for just $500.00. Why? He wanted the wood. He's a wood worker.
He even brought out what amounted to a portable mill, to cut the wood into long planks right on site.

[Hortensis]

15. Mature native oaks tend to be very valued in Southern California.

A town we lived in had a fine of $50K for removing one without permission, and that was at a time when $50K was far more money than now. The law was enforced also.

One beautiful old tree that shaded and was a treasure to four properties, including our friend's, was removed by a new homeowner who apparently didn't think it would be enforced. His main effort was in getting the tree removed so fast it couldn't be stopped in time. He turned out to be very angry and sorry, but not as sad, and not more angry, than his neighbors.

[Demovictory9]

23. Expensive lesson

[Hekate]

16. That is so sad, on every level. I wish people would stop saying, "But Encino is super wealthy."

#1 Not everybody is
#2 California Oaks are a native tree and there’s usually rules about removing them. They’re literally irreplaceable.
#3 If a tree is diseased — of course it has to go.

I’m so sorry for this family.

[LisaL]

17. Tree was owned by the city.

The trees are protected. The family would be presumably not allowed to remove it even if they wanted to-the city I guess would have to remove it? And it doesn't sound like family had a lot of concern, since they were following whatever rules were set for taking care of the tree.