Numerous trees down on the Monterey Peninsula

According to Public Works crews and tree service companies, at least 15 large trees in the Pacific Grove and Pebble Beach area came down in the gusty winds last night. The howling winds last night were impressive, gusts peaking near 50mph on the Monterey Peninsula.

“Boy I’ll tell you I haven’t seen winds like that ever since we moved here in 2007. We got a great big pine tree in the backyard, I went out and looked at it and it was swaying back and forth. Didn’t mention to tell my wife because she was pretty petrified that that thing was going to fall down on the house,” said Harold Cook, a resident of Monterey.

But the winds aren’t all to blame, a combination of factors led to the timber falling.

“You know, years of drought and then all of a sudden we have a bunch of rain and the trees just sort of suck up the moisture and then their super heavy and the winds just catch them and blow them over,” said Michael Iverson, an arborist with Iverson Tree Service.

Due to the devastating drought California is in, the state is not used to receiving all the rain that it has been getting recently. The trees have a tough time adapting to that change and the gusty winds we were really just the cherry on top.

Some trees that toppled had some decay, but others that were completely healthy got totally uprooted. Now winter isn’t over yet, and Iverson said anytime winds reach more than 30mph, more trees can come down easily.

“People become complacent thinking they haven’t seen any high winds or storms, they tend not to look up and notice that their trees actually need attention,” said Iverson.

Luckily, there were no reports of any injuries, just some downed power lines to go along with the damage. And of course, more storms fueled by El Nio are expected through the rest of winter and that can mean more damaged and downed trees.