Monterey’s Trees Face Another Test with Wet Weather

One of the hallmarks of wet weather in California in recent years has been the broad toppling of trees from excessive winds and water saturation. It’s no different in the Monterey area, where, as the region’s venerable alt-weekly noted in a recent cover story, hundreds of trees fell last winter. And it won’t necessarily be easy to keep other trees from coming down or causing power outages this winter.

Pam Marino wrote in the article for Monterey County Weekly about different issues that can contribute to the problems, such as difficulties encountered by two Pacific Grove residents, Tim Calvert and Christie Monson, in removing four Monterey cypress trees at potential risk of crashing into their home. Marino wrote:

“Calvert and Monson became concerned after an arborist told them in 2018 the trees were at risk of failing. They applied for a tree removal permit from the City of Pacific Grove, but were denied. They applied again in January 2023, when their arborist’s assessment was worse. They were told that on a scale of 1-12, with 12 being the highest risk level, at least one tree was at a 10-11. The city’s arborist disagreed with the assessment and insisted the cypress trees were healthy. The couple got a lawyer and appealed to the Beautification and Natural Resources Committee, and again to the P.G. City Council in April. City officials maintained the trees are healthy and safe.”

Marino details other issues that can contribute to tree-related problems as well, such as the difficulties for Pacific Gas & Electric to underground utility lines, which help protect them from falling branches but is prohibitively expensive to do.

It’s a worthwhile read, all in all, for anyone who wants better understanding of a nuanced problem without easy answers.

Read the full article, “Hundreds of trees fell on the Monterey Peninsula during last winter’s storms,” on MontereyCountyWeekly.com.