Tree falls on Santa Rosa man’s vehicle, again

A Santa Rosa man woke up Friday to find a tree had fallen on his car - again.

The resident of the Burbank Gardens neighborhood emerged from his bungalow to find a coast live oak lying on his beloved 1973 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ-40, two years after the same thing happened to him - only worse - in Guerneville.

“It was like déjà vu all over again,” said the resident, who declined to give his name. “I was like, are you kidding me? This can’t be happening.”

Two years ago, the man said he lost his 1982 Toyota pickup and 2006 PT Cruiser when the bay laurel that had been leaning over his property gave way in a storm, crushing both vehicles.

He was so annoyed at his landlord, who he said had failed to trim the tree despite the obvious hazard, that he moved to Santa Rosa and bought the bungalow, picking up the Land Cruiser last year.

But the Brown Street home was next door to a 1920s bungalow with an unhealthy coast live oak tree.

The tree had codominant trunks, meaning neither trunk really knew which one was supposed to take the lead in growth, explained arborist Alan Hannum, who was removing the tree Friday morning.

The confusion causes both trunks to produce bark, weakening the juncture where they split off from one another. That caused about half the tree to fall onto the Land Cruiser and another car, Hannum said.

This time, however, the Land Cruiser appeared to have survived with little more than damage to a rear view mirror and some scratches on the hood.

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @srcitybeat.