Vancouver woman trapped by 100-year-old fallen elm wants city to remove dangerous trees
Credit to Author: Glenda Luymes| Date: Fri, 08 Nov 2019 01:17:38 +0000
The Vancouver park board has removed 39 trees across the city following a powerful windstorm two weeks ago, but a woman who was pinned beneath a fallen elm is worried it may not be enough.
Jacqueline Fefer was running on West 13th Avenue on Oct. 25 when she heard a loud crack. Moments later, she was pinned beneath a piece of plywood and the limbs of an enormous tree.
A neighbour heard her smothered cries for help as she struggled to breathe and eventually lost consciousness.
“I’m very lucky he heard me,” Fefer recalled Thursday.
The neighbour called emergency services and then used a jack and a chainsaw to try to remove the tree. He was soon joined by firefighters.
“I came to when they were loading me into the ambulance. I saw these heads above me and I remember thinking ‘Is this a dream?’ ”
Complex rescue by @VanFireRescue #Engine19 yesterday.
Crews arrived to unconscious woman completely buried under huge tree felled by wind.
Extensive search & methodical tree removal to extricate pt & transfer care to @BC_EHS.
All of #VFRS @iaff18 wishes her a full recovery. pic.twitter.com/4fmRF5HAjt
Fefer spent 24 hours in hospital with 13 fractured ribs. One of the first things she did after being released was call the City of Vancouver to voice her concerns about the remaining elm trees on West 13th.
The 100-year-old tree that struck her broke near the base and appeared to be rotted.
“I’ve met with arborists who’ve told me that elms this age are typically top heavy with shallow roots. There’s also evidence from the outside that the tree was unhealthy,” she said.
Other elm trees along the same stretch of West 13th between Camosun and Crown streets show similar signs of ill health, including fungal fruiting bodies.
“Neighbours have told me it’s not the first time one of these trees has fallen.”
Jacqueline Fefer was injured when an elm tree fell on her during a windstorm.
In a statement, the Vancouver park board said staff inspected the trees along West 13th on Tuesday. All street trees are inspected on an “approximate annual basis,” but during an extreme weather event any tree could be damaged and fall.
“Elm are generally not known to have structural defects or disease,” said the statement.
The park board did not provide additional comment beyond the statement.
In Vancouver each year, staff remove about 1,400 trees, or about one per cent of street trees. The trees are removed for a variety of reasons and a replacement tree is typically planted.
Immediately after the windstorm, the park board issued a statement saying the elm tree that fell “appears to have sufficient live wood and does not show indications of rot.”
But Fefer said she would like to see the elms replaced with something safer for the people who live or travel through the neighbourhood.
“I love trees, but these trees are old and they’re dangerous now,” she said. “It makes sense to plant something that’s less likely to fall.”
Fefer is also concerned the city’s previous inspections weren’t thorough enough to detect the risk.
“I understand that they can’t spend a lot of time looking at each tree, but in an area with 100-year-old trees, perhaps they could take more time.”
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