It’s not that I wished a tree to fall on my house, but oddly, I think I always knew one would. Especially since in 2010, a dead eucalyptus tree fell on a neighbor’s house, putting one woman into the hospital and causing the house to be taken down to the foundation. I had 5 of those same trees in my front yard. I have been preparing for this day.
Our house with the tree on top
I called my insurance broker to make sure we would be covered if the same happened to us. Our front yard lacks a sidewalk to divide our property from the city’s property. In fact, the whole side of our street lacks a sidewalk. Those trees sit lined up like silent sentries in the gray area of whose property is it, just off the curb. I learned that my house was properly insured for such a disaster, I also learned the catch 22 when it comes to dealing with these trees.
“If you want to trim the tree, you can’t because it is the city’s, but if the tree falls on your house, it is your tree”.
So, if the tree is dead, or hemorrhaging large branches into your yard and on your car, you cannot do anything to remedy the situation because it is not your tree. As long as it is vertical, hands off. But when it falls onto your house, well, it is now your dead tree lying horizontal on your smushed house.
In truth, by the time we moved into our perfect little house with what I thought were magnificent old growth trees, it was already years too late for keeping those trees safely sized and shaped. I still loved the massive giants that dwarfed our little house and felt they guarded our humble abode.
What happened next? TUNE IN NEXT EPISODE: Granada Hills, CA LOVE OF EUCALYPTUS TREES
