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December 9, 1993 <br /> To: Bob Hammitt /��(�� <br /> From: Adrian Stansfield(� ( �J <br /> Subject: Broken Limb at 1104 Washington. <br /> CC:Richard A. Morgan <br /> Jan Staszewski <br /> John Luther <br /> On Wednesday,December 1st, I responded to a call from EPD regarding a limb <br /> down and obstructing traffic at llth and Washington. What had come down was a <br /> good portion of a Catalpa Tree at the above address. The lead was <br /> approximately 18" in diameter and represented about one third of the crown. <br /> The tear in the trunk of the tree was four feet in height and 20 to 24" <br /> across. Around the perimeter of the tear was a section of live wood from four <br /> to 8" in width. The remainder of the tear was hollow. After clean up of the <br /> limb we inspected the portion of the tree left standing. There were old limb <br /> cuts that were decayed and some hollow, extending into the hollow that had <br /> just been opened up. Farther up the lead on the south side of the tree, were <br /> limb junctions that showed rot and decay. We determined from this the <br /> remainder of the tree should be removed and did so the next day, December 2, <br /> 1993. <br /> The amazing thing about this limb coming down is the fact that no person or <br /> property was injured, killed or damaged. Considering that it was: <br /> 1. mid morning, <br /> 2. the intersection has a traffic light and traffic is regularly stopped <br /> at that point, <br /> 3. Washington Street is fairly heavily travelled at that location, <br /> 4. The limb made contact with the street in the center of the West lane <br /> of Washington, and <br /> 5. I would estimate the weight of the limb to be in the neighborhood of <br /> 1500 pounds. <br /> While we have made progress in the past few years with "beefing" up the tree <br /> crew, especially with the addition of two Tree Trimmer I's, This incident <br /> dramatically demonstrates, to me, the importance of being able to detect this <br /> type of hazard before it becomes a statistic. The defects that were present <br /> in this Catalpa were, once noticed, obvious and the outcome predictable. With <br /> a program of inspection based on density of traffic on given streets and <br /> divided into manageable grids, these types of trees can be detected and dealt <br /> with in a timely manner. You and I both know that, once we begin to look for <br /> these "hazard" trees, we will produce more than we are able to take care of, <br /> however, with an inventory of them, we will be able to begin a program that <br /> recognizes and deals with them in a systematic and progressive manner. <br /> I realize that the concept of having an inspector can, on the surface, seem <br /> counter productive. We receive work requests from the public during the <br /> spring and summer that result in a backlog of six to eight weeks of work. An <br /> inspector will simply produce more work. I do believe, however, that with the <br /> right program, and with the three crews we will soon have, we would be moving <br /> in a direction that would give us a great deal of credibility in dealing with <br /> a bad situation. <br />