Arborist Attributes Multiple Factors to Collapse of Pine Tree on Children Near Kidspace Museum

[Updated August 13, 2015 | 6:17 p.m.]  An independent arborist hired by the City of Pasadena to determine why an 85-foot tall Italian stone pine tree in Brookside Park near Kidspace suddenly collapsed and struck eight children said several factors most likely contributed to the tree’s failure July 28, 2015.

Arborist Ted Lubeshkoff of JTL Consultants wrote in a seven-page report there were several possible contributing factors that may have caused the tree to fall, including absence of anchoring roots; a slight lean in the tree; recent drought conditions and heavy weight due to increased water uptake following recent rains.

Read the Report Here:  Final Tree Report  

The report’s carefully worded conclusion indicates that the tree’s root system simply could not anchor the leaning tree after its limbs became weighted by water from two downpours which occurred shortly before the incident.

Among the observations made by Lubeshkoff:

• The tree was 85 feet tall; had a trunk diameter of about 42 inches and a canopy width of about 60 feet by 60 feet
• The tree fell in an easterly direction
• The tree did not have a root crown on the east side of the tree, the direction it fell
• No distinct root crown on the west side of the tree
• The tree did not have wide-spreading anchoring roots
• Large girdling roots were visible within the uplifted root system
• No root rot fungus was present
• Historic evidence of fire damage indicated from black charcoal and white ash in a cavity on the underneath side of the tree, possibly from hot barbecue coals
•The tree had a slight lean

The arborist noted an increase in water consumption by the tree probably added substantial weight to it after about .61 inches of rain occurred July 19 and July 20, less than 10 days prior to its collapse.

“The Italian stone pine probably could not release water as quickly as it was taking water in, causing a substantial increase in weight throughout the tree,” the report noted.

Lubeshkoff ‘s report concluded:

“A lean in the tree, by itself, is not necessarily an indicator of an unstable tree. However, the lean combined with the heavy weight due to increased water uptake and the absence of anchoring roots on the east and west side of the tree most likely contributed to the tree’s instability and failure.”

Pasadena Now learned in the days following the collapse of unconfirmed accounts that earlier this year, in February, a large limb fell off the tree. Many professional arborists agree that losing a limb is a key indicator that a tree might be unhealthy and needs immediate inspection for possible removal.

When asked to confirm this earlier incident, Kidspace Musuem Exhibit and Facilities Manager Joshua Fryer said he was “unable to comment on this matter.”

Also this year on April 4, in an incident that went unreported at the time, a tree limb from another tree fell on a local mother’s seven-year-old son in almost the same location within Brookside Park, a mere 50 yards away from the July 28 pine tree collapse.

Charlotte Martin said a heavy limb fell from a Eucalyptus tree, bouncing up and hitting her son’s face, nearly blinding him.

The City of Pasadena paid for the cost of the paramedics’ treating her son’s injuries, Martin said.

Pasadena municipal and environmental law attorney Jim Ciampa said the City of Pasadena could be held responsible for the July 28 tree toppling if the city were proven to have been negligent in maintaining the tree.

“If they failed to properly trim or over trimmed it,” Ciampa said. “It would revert to a basic negligence analysis, a breach of the city’s duties of care owed to the public by failing to properly maintain the tree.”

The City sent tree trimmers into Brookside Park on August 4 to minimize further potential danger.

Arborist George Salinas of the George Salinas Tree Preservation (GSTP) company fielded a team of eight men trimming trees in the area outside Kidspace Museum, saying the City had contracted his company.

“We are here trimming to eliminate any hazards, the cross limbs, dead wood, wind resistance. Also any branch that is out of shape we are trimming back to balance the tree,” Salinas said at that time.

Salinas said although most of the trees he had seen so far looked were healthy, many of the trees had full and heavy branches that badly needed trimming.

“The end of the limbs were drooping down, we took a lot of the weight off so the trees should be safer,” Salinas said.

Salinas said he remembered servicing the Brookside Park trees five years back.

GSTP has been under contract with the city for the past eight years. In a 2013 city report describing the need for a contract with GSTP, city staff noted that “All trees need to be inspected and pruned on a regular basis for safety, aesthetic, and health purposes.”

Descanso Gardens Director of Horticulture and Garden Operations, Rachel Young said that similar to people needing a band-aid to help heal a cut, trees need mending after a branch breaks off roughly to prevent bacteria and fungus from entering and possibly impacting the whole tree.

“In the drought some trees will lose limbs to save their lives. It can’t keep up the full tree, so it might lose a branch or two,” Young said “You want to get it checked out. because it’s a safety issue.”

Sap dripping out of a tree, holes from insects, and dramatic foliage change are all telltale signs that a tree could be nearing the end of its life according to Young.

“Trees are a resource in your neighborhood, they add value to your house, they provide shade and because they are a resource we need to make sure they are doing ok. Having your tree checked out every couple of years by an arborist is a safeguard and protects the investment you have in that tree,” Young said.