Fallen tree takes down power lines, hits house in Central Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The wet and windy weather is toppling trees throughout the Central Valley.

Several came down over the weekend. On Monday morning a massive tree fell in a central Fresno neighborhood knocking down power lines, crushing a backyard patio and hitting a house.

The owner of the property said she was awakened by a tremendous crash, and felt fortunate her house wasn't destroyed.

The homes in the neighborhood were built in the early 1950's. The tree, which stood 80-100-feet tall and had a trunk 13-feet wide, was at least 70-years-old.

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Randy Dower lives nearby and says the tree was a standout in the neighborhood.

"It's just a big beautiful tree that everybody loves until you have a day like today," Dower said.

The falling tree and limbs knocked down power lines and left at least 50 homes in the area of First and Ashlan without power.

Tree services responded to several other downed trees, including one that hit the roof of an apartment complex near Palm and Shaw. It wasn't as big, but came down with a crash.

"Everybody in the complex heard it, they all came out, it was pretty loud, but like I said it was just kind of slow as it went down," said Karen Farrar.

The damage to the building did not appear to be serious. But the big job now face by workers is removing the fallen trees.

Dower says the challenge is keeping the big beautiful neighborhood trees from becoming a hazard.

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"Should have trimmed that tree last year, then we still would have had a tree that's pretty to look at, but now, this ones gone," he said.

The property owner told us an arborist, or tree surgeon, told her the tree was solid and would not fall. But the recent storms left the ground so wet, the roots just couldn't hold it.

Tree trimming isn't cheap, especially for such a big tree, but repairing the damage and removing the debris is more costly.