Winter storms that ripped through the Bay Area last winter wreaked havoc on the eucalyptus trees around Burlingame.
Oversaturated soils and roaring winds created a recipe for disaster for many of Burlingame’s eucalyptus trees this past winter, and now the city plans on pruning the trees and removing stumps to reduce the risk of it happening again.
The city hired three separate contractors, totaling a cost of $2.5 million, to prune trees and remove stumps to mitigate future risks.
During last winter’s storms, more than 16 trees fell at Bayside Park in one day. The city contracted Timberline Tree Service for $350,000 to remove the stumps at Bayside Park and along Skyline Boulevard, according to a staff report.
“The goal is to lessen the failures we experienced this past winter,” City Arborist Richard Holtz said.
The city hired Community Tree Service, LLC for $764,800 to prune the trees along Easton Drive, Oak Grove and Burlingame avenues, according to the report. A few massive trees fell during the storms in the area, one of which fell on an unoccupied car on Oak Grove Avenue and nearly missed a resident who moved his truck minutes before the tree fell because he said he saw it swaying.
The city approved a third contractor, West Coast Arborists, Inc for $1.4 million for mature eucalyptus tree pruning along Francard Grove North and Rollins Road, according to the report.
The city is removing 61 trees and pruning 42 along California Drive and along the Caltrain tracks between Oak Grove Avenue and Broadway.
Even the historic eucalyptus grove along El Camino Real — which were planted by Golden Gate Park gardener John McLaren in the 1870s— is part of the city’s removal and pruning plan. The overgrown trees with shallow root systems were visibly teetering during last winter’s storms and dozens of them failed. But the city has been working with Caltrans for years on a grand plan to redesign El Camino Real. Those plans include undergrounding utilities, repaving the road, reconfiguring the sidewalk and removing many of the hazardous trees and replacing them with a smaller less invasive variety.
The city has a program to maintain city trees at least once every four years. The trees get inspected and receive a pruning prescription. However, this year’s high cost is a result of the storms.
(650) 344-5200 ext. 105
(650)344-5200, ext. 105
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