Deaths, injuries from falling trees an unfortunate coincidence, experts say

Five times since February a falling tree has killed or injured someone in Sonoma County, but experts don’t think the risk is significantly greater than in the past.

In the most recent incident, on Sunday, three bicyclists competing in the Vineman Triathlon were injured when an oak tree fell across Westside Road north of Forestville. One man remained hospitalized Tuesday with serious injuries

“I don’t have numbers, but it is my gut feeling that I have seen more (tree) failures in recent years,” said Bruce Hagen of Sebastopol, a retired Calfire arborist. “But it is just by chance you have three bike riders under it. If the tree had failed on a Sunday morning without bike riders, would it even get reported?”

It was just the latest in a series of such incidents, two involving fatalities.

In February, Paula “Jamie” Kuhle died when a tree fell on her while she was walking in a forest near her Freestone home. In May, 5-year-old Bobby Kirby of Glen Ellen died and his father was seriously injured when a tree fell on the family pickup on Bennett Valley Road.

Also in May, a falling tree severely injured two people driving on Highway 101 near Geyserville, and in April a pine tree fell into a play area at the Brush Creek Montessori School in Santa Rosa, injuring a 5-year-old girl.

Amy Wegener-Taganashi of Sebastopol, who was injured in the Highway 101 incident near Geyserville, calls the series of incidents “freakish.”

“I have a hyper-vigilance in my driving experience now, everything seems more fragile than it did,” she said. “Trees are still my friend, but I look at everything with a different perspective.”

The only common thread were injuries.

“Tree failures are common, these are just getting noticed,” said arborist Ron Wallace of Tree Pro in Santa Rosa. “Two weeks ago, there was a live oak failure in Healdsburg that hit three cars. But that didn’t get in the paper because it didn’t hurt anyone.”

“They get more publicity when they injure someone,” said arborist Sherby Sanborn of Glen Ellen. “I see them every year, but this year has been unusual in the number of people who have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. That is not something that you have much control over.”

Arborists said the risks may be somewhat greater because of the infestation of sudden oak death, a pathogen that causes trees to die and fall.

Oak trees can also fail from root rot or decay in the trunk or crotch of trunks, and limbs can fall if they get too big or are saturated with water during normal transpiration, particularly on hot days.

“Each tree is individual, you cannot make a generalization,” Wallace said. “With this number of failures in a short period of time, people want to know why. But each has its own set of circumstances.”

The tree that fell in a Freestone forest, killing Kuhle, was infected by sudden oak death, said arborist Hagen.

The tree that fell on Bennett Valley Road killing the Glen Ellen child died did not have sudden oak death, according to two arborists hired by Sonoma County, said county spokesman Jim Toomey. The cause has not been determined.

Tom O’Kane, deputy director of Sonoma County public works, said that on that same stormy day, 16 to 18 trees or limbs fell on other county roads and had to be removed.

In the Bennett Valley incident, $5 million claims have been filed against the county by Bobby Kirby’s father, Michael Kirby, and mother, Diane Musser-Kirby, contending the county did not do enough to inspect trees alongside roadways.

Arborists say the only way to spot trees that may be in danger of falling are with thorough inspections, which can cost $100 for each tree.

“Some level of a risk abatement program is needed and I don’t know what the program is,” Hagen said. “It should be at least a once-a-year drive and more preferably walking all of the roads.”

O’Kane said he has one trained worker who looks at roadside trees now, but the program is being jeopardized because of state budget cuts.

And only one of the trees in the five incidents, the one on Bennett Valley Road, was in a county easement.

“We’ve got a million trees around the county, I think the count on eucalyptus alone is 4,000,” O’Kane said. “We are not paying someone to go out and analyze the health of all those trees. There are thousands of oak trees on Bennett Valley Road, some of the trees actually grow out from under the pavement.”

The county does not own the trees that are in its road easements, but does maintain them as a public service, O’Kane said. Four eucalyptus trees were removed in February from Lakeville Highway, and this year the county also trimmed trees that were hanging over Leveroni Road in Sonoma, he said.

Caltrans’ maintenance and landscape workers regularly monitor trees along state highways.

In 2006 and 2007, Caltrans had 1,128 diseased trees removed and another 245 pruned in Sonoma, Marin and Solano in a program that cost $950,000, said spokesman Bob Haus.