22 eucalyptus trees to get the ax

Tariq Malik

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Almost two dozen eucalyptus trees will be cut down

by city workers because of the risk of weak branches falling on

passersby.

On Monday, the city began removing 22 trees in the area bordered by

Palm Avenue on the north, Adams Avenue on the south, Alabama Street on

the east and 12th Street on the west. They have been identified by a team

of tree specialists as potential dangers.

Arborists Steve Holcomb, Alden Kelly and Frederick Roth conducted

independent studies of 160 mature eucalyptus trees to determine which

ones need to come down, city officials said.

“This is really prompted by an incident we had a couple of years ago,

where two people were injured by falling eucalyptus branches,” said city

spokesman Rich Barnard.

“It’s taken this long to be sure that it wasn’t a freak accident and

know which trees have to come down as a matter of safety.”

In March 1998, a 25-foot eucalyptus branch hurt two people when it

crashed down on them and a taxicab at Main and 12th streets. Four months

later, four young girls on a field trip to Central Park were injured --

one seriously -- when a branch fell on them.

Holcomb, an arborist and urban forester with Brea-based Treeco

Arborist, was working on the city’s community forest management plan when

the first incident occurred.

“The trees in this study are just a segment of the eucalyptus

population in the city,” he said. “But they are located Downtown, where

events like the Fourth of July parade attract a lot of people who could

be targets for falling branches.”

Eucalyptus trees were transplanted to Southern California from

Australia and planted in groves, mainly as wind breaks.

In Downtown Huntington Beach, mostly Red River eucalyptus trees were

planted in new housing developments.

The trees can reach up to 70 feet in height. The city used to prune

the tops of the trees, limiting their height to 35 feet to 40 feet, but

stopped that practice some years ago.

Arborists said branches that grow after “topping” are weaker than

branches that have not been cut and are more likely to fall.

“Trees become artifacts within the urban environment, not part of it,”

Holcomb said. “And while they add beauty and are a good thing, they can

pose a threat and cause a number of problems too.”

Roth rated the city’s eucalyptus trees on a risk scale of 1 to 4, with

4 requiring tree removal. Each of the trees to be removed has lost

branches and will be replaced with city-approved tree species.

City tree officials also are working with arborists to establish

inspections of Downtown eucalyptus trees each January and July.