LOS ANGELES, CA – A tree fell onto two cars parked outside a grocery store in Hollywood on Thursday, hours after heavy rain moved through the area, crushing the roof of one of the vehicles.
The tree came down in the parking lot of the Smart & Final store on Western Avenue near Romaine Street on Thursday, Oct. 22. A white Alfa Romeo Giulia took the brunt of the damage, and its roof was crushed.
A black Mazda CX-5 parked in the adjacent space was also damaged. One person was inside the Mazda and appeared to be unharmed, according to initial reports.
Tree fell from sidewalk beyond a wall
The tree came down from a sidewalk on the other side of a wall that separates the parking lot from a city street. It landed on the two cars parked along that side of the lot.
The weight of the tree crushed the roof of the Alfa Romeo. The Mazda in the next space was less heavily damaged.
The cause of the fall was unclear, and officials had not said who owns the tree.
Rain fell overnight before the collapse
About a half inch of rain fell on the Hollywood area overnight from Wednesday into Thursday. The tree came down hours after that rain.
The National Weather Service’s preliminary precipitation report, issued at 10:02 a.m. Friday, lists 0.48 inch over 48 hours at Hollywood Reservoir. The same report lists 0.20 inch in the 24 hours ending at 10 a.m. Friday for downtown Los Angeles, and 0.60 inch over 48 hours.
The report gives preliminary amounts for Los Angeles County for periods ending at 10 a.m. Friday, and it is a rainfall report only.
Pacific storm moved across the region
The tree fell as a Pacific storm crossed Southern California this week. According to initial reports, a flood watch was in effect through Thursday afternoon for Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Topanga and parts of the Santa Monica Mountains, and three people were rescued from rushing floodwaters in North Hills on Thursday.
The National Weather Service’s Public Information Statement issued at 3:52 p.m. Thursday lists the highest wind reports over southwestern California for the previous 24 hours. Those include 51 mph 8 miles southeast of Acton at 11:53 p.m. Wednesday and 53 mph 7 miles northeast of Ojai at 9:15 a.m. Thursday.
The statement notes that observations are collected from a variety of sources with varying equipment and exposures. Those wind reports come from other parts of the region, and nothing in the statement links wind to the tree in Hollywood.
How fallen street trees are handled in Los Angeles
The Urban Forestry Division of StreetsLA, the Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services, responds to and removes fallen street trees, according to the agency’s frequently asked questions page. Residents report a fallen tree or limb by dialing 3-1-1.
The agency describes a tree emergency as one in which a tree or limb has fallen, or is in danger of falling, and the public right-of-way is blocked or affected. Outside storm periods, a crew responds to such an emergency within 24 hours, according to the page.
The division maintains a city street tree canopy of more than 660,000 trees, according to the same page.
Dry weather forecast after the storm
Forecasters expected dry weather on Friday, with weaker Santa Ana winds over the weekend.
The owners of the two damaged vehicles had not been publicly identified. StreetsLA and the city had not issued a statement about the tree as of Friday.
