In your recent article “Storms Batter Burbank,” you reported on the 21 large trees that were felled in the city by high winds. I can’t speak for the other 20, but the liquidambar at 320 N. Lima St. would not have crushed two vehicles if our forestry supervisor had removed it as requested in August 2022.
The tree produced no leaves in 2021. Spring 2022, it sprouted a few dozen but they turned brown and curled up within weeks. I phoned the Department of Parks & Recreation to report it in July. No one returned my call. My wife followed up on Aug. 29; she was told to fill out a form, which we did. On Sept. 15, we received a letter from the forestry supervisor citing city code and stating “there is no cause to justify the removal of the trees (sic) The trees (sic) are neither dead nor potentially hazardous to the safe use of the street.”
On March 1 at 10:30 p.m., that assessment proved horribly wrong. The tree snapped off at its base — its roots were not sturdy enough to even crack the sidewalk or curb. The tree’s location is only 100 yards or so from Stevenson Elementary; had it not fallen during evening hours the damage could’ve been much more horrific than two totaled automobiles.
William Brown
Burbank
First published in the March 11 print issue of the Burbank Leader.
