Falling down Falling down (March 05, 2004)

Windy storm conditions took their toll on trees last week, uprooting nearly a dozen in Pleasanton including a century-old Valley Oak lost in Kottinger Park. Each year the city loses a number trees, said Mike Fulford, city landscape architect. Sometimes, loose soil is the culprit, sometimes the trees are "perched on a mound or rise of soil," he said.

"We lose more oaks during the warm, hot dry weather than windy stormy weather," said Fulford. "Temperature drops and temperature rises. The trees will pull up from the ground a tremendous quantity of water. The added water weight causes structural failure." However, the number of new trees planted every year offsets the losses, he said, noting, "Pleasanton people generally take pride in all the trees they have and they embrace the street tree planting."

The city reacts quickly to fallen trees inside manicured parks, chopping up the tree into manageable 20-inch lengths, which are left neatly stacked for anyone who wants the wood, Fulford said. The small pieces are chipped and distributed to places throughout the city such as the dog exercise area in Muirwood Community Park. -Teresa C. Brown

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