Impending fall and winter storm season poses risks to Vancouver's trees

On a Saturday in August, Vancouver resident Ryland Haggis heard a series of rapid cracks and pops outside his East 10th Avenue home and quickly realized a large tree was splintering.

The tree, which has stood on the boulevard for decades, hit his house, toppled his fence, and came to rest in the front yard where his young children often play.

"If it had been closer to mid-day or in the afternoon, something like this could have been really tragic and catastrophic," Haggis told CTV News.

A few days later, a crew of city arborists cut the tree into pieces for removal.

Although the tree had significant rot and decay where it cracked, Haggis said a city employee told him it was probably a summer rainstorm that brought the tree down.

"It's Vancouver," Haggis said. "If rain is going to bring down a tree, then what are we doing here?"

Haggis said the city is not liable for the repairs to his house because he had not previously reported the tree as a potential hazard.

He's fortunate that his homeowner's insurance is picking up most of the costs—but he's also encouraging others to examine trees around their homes and make the city aware of any concerns.

"It takes a couple of minutes to do it through the city website, and then if anything does happen, then at least it's down there in black and white as you having flagged it," he said.

Arborist Tim Swain, a manager with a company called BC Tree Services, said people should keep track of changes to trees around their homes season to season and year to year.

"If you don't pay any attention, it kind of creeps up on you and then suddenly you've got big issues," Swain said. "So, having a look at the trees, having a look at the foliage, what does it normally look like? So you're familiar with your tree, and in that way, you're going to notice when you start to see changes."

In July, a large limb fell across Napier Street at a busy pedestrian intersection on Commercial Drive.

Fortunately, nobody was hurt in that incident involving a thick branch that also had visible rot and decay.

Dozens of trees of the same variety and approximate age line the rest of the block neighbouring streets.

"How many more trees need to fall before they examine these?" Haggis said.

Through the park board, the city is responsible for almost 1.2 million trees in Vancouver, including 150,000 street trees.

The city did not make anyone available for an interview about hazardous trees but did provide a statement from Joe McLeod, associate director of urban forestry at the park board.

"The Urban Forestry team employs ISA-certified arborists that have the TRAQ credential, which is the industry standard for tree risk assessment," he said. "Annual reviews of our tree assets allow us to prioritize any risk mitigation efforts associated with the city's trees."

McLeod said the city removes about 2,000 hazardous trees per year with a priority on the ones that pose the highest risk—but added that even the healthiest and most stable trees can suffer severe impacts from extreme weather.