San Francisco Has a Plague: Falling Trees

Hundreds of people have filed complaints about falling trees in San Francisco, according to a report from The San Francisco Standard.

The outlet reported that nearly 200 San Francisco residents have filed tree-related claims against the city between January and July 2023. 

The trees fall for various reasons, including damage brought by heavy winter storms. Storms in the area brought on downed trees, flooding, and mudslides. In February, a winter storm caused the temperature in San Francisco to drop to 48 degrees Fahrenheit, the lowest ever recorded on that day.

In March of this year, at least 900 trees fell from a powerful storm. Footage shot by local news stations shows trees uprooted from the ground and lying on their side.

One person told the Standard a falling tree nearly wrecked her car, with the damages costing her $15,000 out of pocket to fix. 

“I had stepped into Walgreens for all of eight minutes, and when I came out, I was like, 'Where’s my car?'” Glenda Couchman said. “This tree had completely enveloped it, and all of these people were gathered around filming.” 

Couchman filed a claim with the city to get the money back. But the city rejected it, saying incidents caused by fallen trees are an “act of God.”

“Are you freaking kidding me?” Couchman said. “God didn’t plant that tree there.” 

Another person said a tree came down on him and another passenger in the car he was driving back in September 2022. His car was ruined.

“I blacked out for a few seconds,” Lyft driver Obed Kusman said. “I was freaking out. I thought I’d be dead.” 

Kusman blames the city and wants to be compensated for the damage. 

“It’s the city’s fault,” he said. “How come a tree just fell out of nowhere?”