Portland's big trees cause mayhem in latest storm
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Four trees fell on Shu-Ju Wang's family home in leafy SW Portland during the Jan. 13 storm. Photo: Courtesy of Shu-Ju Wang
At least 675 trees were downed in the wind, snow and ice storm that hit Portland last month, city officials said.
- Falling trees killed two people and a power line downed by a branch electrocuted three.
- Many were mature trees that devastated properties in their paths.
Why it matters: Big trees are part of the Portland brand but can sometimes seem like a liability.
- Trees don't observe class boundaries — large trees thrive in the exclusive West Hills and on the large lots of The Numbers, those high-numbered avenues east of I-205.
Zoom in: Portland filmmaker Irene Taylor's 2023 documentary, "Trees, and Other Entanglements," opens with her hacking English ivy off a tree next to her Council Crest property.
- Taylor made the tree's 6-inch-thick ivy a metaphor for her father's Alzheimer's disease.
- On Jan. 13 she watched the tree fall and crush the side of the house next door.
- "I truly felt haunted by the vulnerability of that tree," she told Axios.
Taylor blames the ivy for weakening the trees. "It takes the groundwater and it covers the tree like a sweater, the bark suffocates."
Shu-Ju Wang was unluckier. Four falling trees carved apart the SW Portland artist's house.
- Then, while she was relocated to a Beaverton motel, the house was burglarized.
Be smart: Wang urges anyone with large trees nearby to establish a relationship with a certified arborist and have regular inspections.
- "Our increasing climate stress (heat/drought/cold) and the extreme wind meant that even healthy trees were susceptible to coming down," she emailed Axios.
Even though Wang's arborist came every three to five years, the 60-mph gusts proved too much.
The bottom line: Waiting until the damage is done can be costly.
- Portland Parks & Recreation's Urban Forestry division has an emergency number (503-823-TREE) for when trees fall in parks and highways.
- Private citizens are on their own. A family in Lake Oswego paid $10,000 to have a leaning tree removed in case it fell, and insurance would not cover it.
What they're saying: Arborist Damien Carré, founder of Oregon Tree Care, said that some companies were charging up to $600 an hour in the days after the storm to cut up and remove fallen trees.
- Many trees that fall in windstorms have been compromised by a driveway or drought which weakens roots, Carré told Axios.
- "If you own trees, pay $150 to have them inspected every year or so. I can usually tell the trees that are in danger just by looking at them," he said.