For as long as he’s lived in his Port Coquitlam home, Steve Carter has had to contend with falling tree limbs.
“Over the last 10 years, I’ve counted, oh, well over 40 branches between these three trees that have come down in wind storms, snow, whatever,” Carter said.
One of these fir trees struck again at around 6 a.m. Sunday, sending heavy limbs crashing to the ground, one of them landing on the duplex unit adjoining Carter’s. No one was injured, and the house wasn’t significantly damaged, but Carter says it’s an example of the risk the trees pose.
He told CTV News he has spent his own money to trim one of the trees that is on his property, but the one that lost its branches this time is the property of the City of Port Coquitlam, which Carter says has not adequately responded to his complaints over the years.
“I told them if you don’t do something about these trees, they’re going to kill somebody,” Carter said. “In fact, five years ago, the guy that owned this unit here (next door), his Volkswagen turned from a four-door sedan into a convertible because a 500-pound branch came down and crushed the roof of it.”
Trees around the Lower Mainland have been responsible for even more destructive incidents in the past.
Last March, a windstorm toppled a tree onto a Port Moody home, killing a woman in her bedroom. And this weekend’s snowstorms uprooted trees and downed limbs all across the region.
Carter and his neighbour called the city before Christmas to ask them to trim the tree and minimize the risk. They were told a crew would be sent sometime in January. As of this weekend, the crew still hadn’t arrived.
Port Coquitlam’s Manager of Park Services told CTV News that the problem tree was on the city’s list for early this month. Given the branches that fell this weekend, however, the city says its maintenance team will be there Monday.
With files from CTV Vancouver’s David Molko
