A large oak tree fell onto a mobile home in Citrus Heights early Friday morning, causing significant damage to the residence.
“It woke us all up,” said resident William Raven, recalling a loud metallic sound as the tree smashed into his carport and living room around 1 a.m. Friday. “It was a healthy looking tree, so everybody was kinda surprised that it fell.”
The 72-year-old resident said no one was injured, but Metro Fire arrived after the incident to turn off gas lines and power for safety reasons. Raven said the mobile home park will handle cleanup of the tree, but without insurance he’ll be stuck with repairs, an amount he estimated at $10,000.
The incident occurred off Lauppe Lane at the Oak Grove Estates. A nearby mobile home narrowly escaped being hit by the tree, but slight damage to the carport from a branch was visible.
Related: Local arborist lists 6 warning signs your tree could uproot, fall in a storm
As previously reported on The Sentinel, local arborist Karl Carlson said several years of drought coupled with recent heavy rainfall and winds have left dead trees, saturated ground, and ripe conditions for trees to fall in storms.
The certified arborist provided several tips to The Sentinel last month for assessing whether a tree might be more prone to fall, but he cautioned that “you can’t always tell.”
Six warning signs to look for:
- Cracks in the soil around the tree.
- Water coming up from the soil around the tree during wind and rain.
- Up-heaving or mounding soil near the base of the tree.
- Mushrooms or fungus on-or-around the base of the tree, which can be a “tell-tale sign” of root problems.
- A new lean that was not present before.
- Trees with no leaf or sparse leaves, indicating a tree that may have died or has a bad root system.
