Tree Down On Meiners Oaks Homes
By Logan Hall
A large live oak tree fell onto a house on the corner of Encinal Avenue and Mesa Drive in Meiners Oaks at about 2 p.m. Thursday, bringing down live power lines with it. A large part of the tree, which was situated on the property line of Scott and Cathy Titus, had landed directly on the house next door owned by Kevin Doss and Jodi Graff. According to officials, no injuries were reported, but six nearby homes were evacuated until the tree was stabilized by Mark Crane’s Tree and Arborist Service. The tree, which is shared by a neighboring property, split and a large section landed on the roof of the home.
Titus’ niece, Nicki Diaz, was in the house next door which is owned by Scott and Kathy Titus. “I heard a loud bang and everything was shaking,” said Diaz. “We normally have a lot of shade in our yard. All of a sudden, it got really light out.”
Crane’s Tree Service was called in to begin the tree’s removal process and with a crew of six, had much of the debris cleared by nightfall. “The tree had gone through a heavy transpiration process,” said Mark Crane, who owns the business. According to Crane, transpiration involves the tree taking in large amounts of water from the ground. As the water is brought up to the tree’s canopy, the weight becomes to much for the roots to handle, and the tree falls. Ojai Valley’s oak trees are more susceptible to transpiration when the temperatures rise when the tree needs to bring up more water.
Fire crews from Meiners Oaks Fire Station 22 arrived on scene and provided assistance for the neighborhood. “We had to evacuate people from the homes that were near the tree,” said Captain Bob Myers. “Everyone is back now though. Crane’s Tree Service and T&T Crane did a great job out here cleaning this up.”
The Titus family has had to pick up the cost of the Crane as well as the lighting system that illuminated the work area. According to Cathy Titus, the County of Ventura is making the family foot the bill. “It cost us $10,000 to get the crane here,” she said. “The County said we had to pay for the lights as well. We are really mad about it.”
Crews workedf well into the night to remove remaining pieces of the oak.
Mark Crane Tree and Arborist service are great. Make sure you use a ligitimate Tree Company that has proof of Insurance and up to date Arborist Licence, so you don’t have more legal problems if you do file. When there climbing up your trees in a rope with a chain saw in belt, who cares how good they are. Don’t take chances
Ha! We had an oak tree go down and our homeowners insurance would NOT pay for it, act of God, they would only pay if we had neglected to take it down because it was diseased. What a joke, oak trees are more sacred than people in this town. We had to get a permit to remove a second diseased oak tree in our yard, but only after paying a botanist to come out first, then pay for permit, then pay to have it removed, the first tree was 4000.00 to take out over ten years ago! Ojai has some screwy ideas… I wish I’d known how messy, unsafe and allergic oak trees were, I would never have moved to Ojai. We feel your pain!
The County didn’t arbitrarily decide to save all the Ojai trees in the valley. It was with the help of legislation beginning by citizens. Shade is a wonderful thing in Ojai Valley but not at the risk of lives and property. If you don’t like footing the bill then, consider placing a new proposal on future ballots that allow oak trees to be trimmed and a % to be removed by the property owners without a costly permit. The permit could really be just a tracking system to insure we don’t clearcut the whole valley.
On another note, has anyone noticed if (when) a fire breaks out in this valley how many homes will be destroyed and how many roads will be blocked by down trees and powerlines? I know this sounds negative but fire doesn’t discriminate. The lives of oaks was not intended for such close procemity (sp)to structures, roads and schools. In addition, untrimmed palms and eucalyptus trees are like roman candle fireworks when they catch fire. Maybe a 50/50 split could be addressed for paying the arborist/lighting IF the homeowners insurance doesn’t pick up the bill. Home ownership does have its responsibilities. Look at historical photos of the valley and you’ll see open valley space with small clusters of trees. Residence are creating their own situation by pampering the Oaks and even planting more lining the highway, blocking views and powerlines. I suggest all of us look at the picture ahead not just the here and now. That is what governing is really about.
Here is a link to the Ventura County regulations regarding Oak trees. Unfortunately, Bart is incorrect about not needing a permit. Proper trimming, as he states, will reduce the risk, but you do have to be careful about cutting larger branches. There are, again unfortunately, plenty of people in this valley who would be only too happy to turn in a home owner for trimming larger branches without a permit. http://www.ventura.org/rma/planning/pdf/brochures/Tree_Protection_Ordinance.pdf
Thank you Bart, well said.
Bart: check local ordances!
Most of you people don’t have a clue!!!
No permit needed to trim a tree.
Anyone with half a brain and an ounce of common sense living in this area would understand that a very large tree with close proximity to living quarters is a risk.
Having a trained tree professional look at your trees is only going to keep your trees healthy and risk-free.
doing a weight reduction, and directional pruning can help keep your trees growing with less risk and increased property value.
I have to agree with most of the posts after me!!
No budget is the catch phrase of all government, because they are the ones who screwed it up in the first place!
Use your home owners insurance, if they cover it..guess what happens: they will cancel you and you will pay hell getting insurance that is mandated! How’s that for a catch 22? Happened to me, and I took it to the State Attorney General and forced the insurance to re-instate!
Her house insurance should cover the cost of the crane and tree removal. It would be a good idea for anyone living under a tree to pay an arborist on occasion for review of the trees health and to keep it trimmed. NO one is going to stop you from trimming your oak tree. JUST DO IT!
Whatever happened to preventative maintenance? Cut down all the trees and you won’t have this problem.
True Guy – Send the bill to the City/County?
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You can send a bill all you want. You’ll be told there is “no budget”. At least this family will probably recoup most of their costs from their homeowners ins…
Just wait until the roots from any of these massive trees clog the city owned path to your sewer main. From the sidewalk to the main out in the street! As a homeowner you will be told to foot the bill… “There is no budget” Your Homeowners policy wont cover tree roots.
Think the permit for tree trimming is bad? Wait until you see what it costs to go out to the sewer main from the sidewalk… LOL
It is a known fact that large oak trees are a serious danger. Yet, try and trim one, or remove a diseased dangerous one and you get no where.
Too many times trees have fallen around this area, and the concern is for the damned tree!! Not one word about death or injry to humans!
Send the bill to the city/county!! They made it theirs by their complete disregard for the dangers of large or diseased trees!
Agree with you Essie!
If the County wants to pin this ridiculous type of bill on a property owners, then they should let us do what we want with the oaks without having to get special permits. No matter what resident do, WE are always the ones forking out the cash.
Whatever happened to having pictures with the stories?