ARDEN-ARCADE, Calif. — With more rain on the way for the Sacramento region, there's a higher chance of trees falling on homes or cars.
Tree failure is caused when the soil loses its capacity to hold the tree in place because of all the rain, according to arborists. The end result can be a major headache for homeowners.
The weekend storm caused a massive tree to fall onto a family's garage, and they're not the only ones who have experienced this. Sacramento County says they received upward of 300 reports of downed trees.
"We typically have people over for New Year's and we weren't home. Right where that tree is, is where we would play darts," said Chris Keil, who had a tree toppled over onto his garage.
It was a scary situation for Keil, who returned home after New Year's Eve just to find an enormous tree lying on top of his three-car garage.
"I was in shock. Sad but you know fortunately, we have insurance, so we're hoping to get through it," he said.
Foothill Tree Service is now working to remove the tree, which is no small task.
Chad Dykstra, the head arborist, said this time of year they'd usually only get about 4 or 5 calls, but right now, that's spiked at 55 to 60 calls a day. He believes this is just the tip of the iceberg.
"A lot of water, we've had that water. Now, we're gonna have more and more water. And I think that it's gonna get worse. With increased water, we're gonna see tree failures," Dykstra said.
Downed trees can be dangerous and cause a lot of property damage that can be extensive and expensive.
Dykstra said it's not too late to take action if you need someone to take a look at your trees.
"Just be proactive, have assessments done, form a relationship with a qualified arborist before the incident happens, and often, you'll have a lot less damage on the properties that are managed versus the ones that are not managed," said Dykstra.
Keil's advice to others is to have good coverage on your home.
"If you have big trees by your house, make sure that you are taking care of them, and that you have the right coverage so that if something like this happens, you're covered," he said.
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