Massive eucalyptus tree crashes onto Oakland family's home

OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) - High winds and overnight rains created a dangerously close call for one Oakland family in the latest round of Bay Area thunderstorms.

A mother, father, and their two-week-old baby girl were fast asleep early Friday morning when a huge tree came crashing down onto their apartment.

"We're lucky to be alive, to be honest with you," said Tony Wagner looking out of the bedroom window of his Fairmount Avenue apartment.

Wagner said it happened at around 2 a.m. The family had all been fast asleep.

"Sounded like huge, huge thunder rolling," Wagner said.

What he thought was thunder was an approximately 8,000 pound eucalyptus tree that crashed through  his apartment building, coming to a rest just a few feet from where they were sleeping.

Neighbors say part of the same tree had come crashing down a few months ago.
        
When one of the neighbors emailed the city, a tree inspector wrote back saying the city would "deal with the issue as soon as we can."

"This is the chickens coming home to roost. They've got to take this seriously," said Wagner.

KTVU asked a longtime arborist to look at the fallen tree.

He says the drought apparently weakened it, making it vulnerable to high winds.

"The drought stress has compromised tree health. The trees are unable to ward off internal decay when their health is compromised," said Wagner.

The arborist also says other eucalyptus trees in the grove behind the apartment complex could be just as dangerous. Peterson adds that trees throughout the Bay Area are just as vulnerable, and dangerous.
   
"The legacy of this drought will be felt in tree health, tree failure for many years to come. Even when the rains resume,” Patterson says.

Friday afternoon, Oakland building inspectors determined the apartment wasn't safe to live in. The Wagner's have to leave until the building is repaired.

The city plans to remove the tree on Saturday, but the threat of something similar happening again, remains.