High winds to batter Modesto. Here’s what to know about the risk of falling trees
Editor’s note: The Bee is looking for Stanislaus County residents’ help in coverage of the upcoming storms. If you know of fallen trees, downed utility lines, flooded streets or structures, property damage and other weather-related havoc, please email us at local@modbee.com, with “Storm News” in the subject field. Feel free to include photos. A contact phone number would be appreciated but is not necessary. We will use the information to update our stories as quickly as possible.
Modesto will be under a high-wind advisory Wednesday and Thursday and that means trees in already saturated soil could topple.
The National Weather Service forecasts winds of 16 to 24 mph, with gusts reaching 40 mph Wednesday and winds of 25 to 28 mph with gusts reaching 46 mph Thursday. That is in addition to as much as 2 to 3 inches of rain forecast for the two days and comes on top of the several inches of rain that already have fallen in the last week or so.
Even healthy trees are vulnerable in these conditions.
“I’d say over the next week or two, we should be worried about trees falling,” said Joe Anderson, an arborist and owner of Modesto-based California Roots. Anderson said it does not take much wind to topple a tree when the soil is saturated.
The city of Modesto’s forestry division already has been busy. It received 51 calls over the holiday weekend, according to the city. That included 11 sites with damage. Five bucket trucks were out Tuesday working on trees.
Homeowners should be concerned if they see cracks in the dirt near the base of their tree or places where the ground has lifted up, according to Anderson and Matthew Baker, an arborist and owner of Modesto-based American Tree Service.
They said that means the tree’s roots are moving because the soil is too saturated to hold them. Both advised having an arborist look at the trees. They said the tree does not necessarily have to be removed. In some cases, trimming and reducing its weight will stabilize the tree.
Modesto residents can report fallen city trees, branches and limbs by calling the city at 209-342-2253. This number is staffed 24 hours a day, including weekends and holidays.
“Depending on the circumstances, the call may prompt ... on-call staff to be called in to handle the issue,” a city spokeswoman said in an email. “If it is a nonemergency, the information will be provided to staff to follow up during business hours.”
This story was originally published January 3, 2023 at 12:39 PM with the headline "High winds to batter Modesto. Here’s what to know about the risk of falling trees."
