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Downed trees, power outages as winds rip through SLO County

February 21, 2023

Chorro Road in SLO

By KAREN VELIE

Roaring winds swept into San Luis Obispo County Tuesday afternoon, toppling trees, closing roads and causing power outages.

A large tree fell across the 200 block of Chorro Street in San Luis Obispo, blocking traffic in both directions. South on Halcyon Road in Nipomo, a tree fell partially blocking traffic.

In Los Osos, a power line fell on a car parked on 7th Street near Ramona Avenue.

Shortly before 4 p.m., county staff closed Pozo Road Between Highway 58 and Avenales Road, according to the CHP website.

Cambria appears to have been hit the hardest with a large tree dropping on a home and multiple trees falling on roads.

More than 3,100 PG&E customers were hit with power outages on Tuesday afternoon and evening in Cambria, Morro Bay, Los Osos, San Luis Obispo and Pismo Beach. Multiple outages in Cambria impacted about 1,780 customers, according to PG&E.


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Looking at the photo, it appears that there is allot of tree for a marginal trunk to root transition. I wonder how many of these older trees are lacking in structural integrity? One way to look at it is like a piano dangling from an old rope over the sidewalk, surely the dangling piano huggers will want to protect their dangling danger.


-11

There is a breaking point. Your seeing in the photo where the roots broke. It was a strong wind. Your logic is at the very least uneducated. Why don’t you just go around cutting all the trees down.Vegatation is Life. Without the trees without the plants we have no water. We have no Air. We have no Life.


-3

The Ficus has a good root system (especially the downtown trees, as evidenced by the heaved sidewalks). Problem is, it’s not a strong wood, so it grows thick to compensate.


Also, some of the trees have reached their maturity, and are starting to slowly die, as can be seen by the apparent rot on that trunk. Not unusual and, long ago, the city put into place a maintenance plan to replace the trees as they die or become a nuisance to the sidewalks, streets, or buildings.


There was a rumor a while ago, started by a presentation of the Chamber of Commerce, the city would remove the big trees, and replace them with smaller trees that would keep the buildings open to view, and the sidewalks/streets cleaner, so tourists would be more aesthetically attracted to the town.


Thankfully, better minds determined the rumors were not only false, but the then city Arborist has said that in no way would the iconic trees be removed. The current Arborist also follows the city regulation concerning urban forests.


1

Thank God some cities have biologists; arborists, etc. They usually do the job with good intention; one hopes.


-2

Wind happens, that said we have professional arborists and the important but not super exciting tree committee. Tree law is a thing and it’s handled in Slo, no need to cast conspiratorial slurs.


-4

Hey, there is no bad guy here. Funny thing about nature, it just keeps coming at you.


1