In Altadena, a fight to save the trees that survived fire

The oaks saved the blue house on East Calaveras Street. Seriina Covarrubias was sure.

When she returned after Eaton’s fire, a large part of the Altadena district was in ruins. Neighboring houses and stores on North Fair Oaks had been destroyed. Its garage and precious garden were demolished. Her house had been filled with smoke – but she survived, just like the two massive oaks that house her. She considered him a small miracle.

A few weeks later, the body of army engineers had labeled the trees for withdrawal, but the certified arborists had inspected them as the second opinion and considered them healthy. The oaks, who are said to be at least 60 years old, did not seem to hinder entry points or put a danger and displayed green leaves.

It didn’t matter. On February 23, almost two months since the fire, they were slaughtered.

“When I discovered this, it was as bad as thinking that I had lost the house,” said Covarrubias, 43. “I could have been there when they killed them. I could have thank them for the work they did to protect my house.”

By the estimate of the Rebecca Latta, thousands of trees in Altana have been labeled for withdrawal: oaks, pines, sycamores, cedars of Odar – trees that have led the city for decades.

Now, she and other arborists, landscape professionals and residents have gathered in order to save the trees that would have survived the fire and preserve the leafy quantity which has once shaped the devastated city.

Officials did not publish the number and types of trees that have been reduced. The army’s body uses certified arboricians to assess the branches of trees and damage caused by roots, and the probability of death within five years, according to the coordinated joint information center, an exchange center for agencies involved in cleaning.

Oak trees at the house of Seriina Covarrubias before being slaughtered.

(Serina Covarrubias)

Latta and an independent group of trees for trees that have managed to recover Altadena for weeks believe that many trees are wrongly for withdrawal. Some have suffered smoke damage and may be dead in their naked winter appearance, but a scratch under the surface of the bark shows that many trees will fall back. And after the rains, some have already started to leaf through – accommodate tufts of green in the charred landscape.

Latta, who co-founded Altadena Green in the days following the fire to bring together volunteers, grew up in the city not formed in society above Pasadena; She knows these trees. She continued the noise of chainsaws through Altadena to inspect the trees labeled for withdrawal and had checked covarrubias oaks just before being cut. Above the blue dots and the red ribbon attached around the trees to eliminate the signal, his team added a green ribbon labeled “keep”, confident that the trees would not fall and that with time, water and pruning, they would continue to grow.

Covarrubias had contacted the County of Los Angeles and the body, informing them that they did not have permission to reduce the trees. She said that she had never visited the property and that she had not given her verbal or written consent – which, according to the coordinated joint information center, is requirements before the withdrawal of the trees. It had previously signed an entry law form, which grants authorization to clean the debris and authorizes the elimination of dangerous trees – a subjective assessment – but had tried to cancel it.

The neighbor next to Covarrubias who lost her house told her that he had been told that the maintenance of the trees could slow down the debris elimination process. She did not want it to happen, but she said that Covarrubias, who shared the property of the trees on the properties line, was to be consulted.

Covarubbias said that at the end, his pleadings were overlooked. She has since spoken with the body of the army of her experience. On Monday, the agency announced that residents could sign a derogation from the removal of dangerous trees and include a sketch of their property detailing the trees they wanted to save. The waiver would judge the owner responsible for any potential danger caused by the tree.

County’s supervisor, Kathryn Barger, had previously responded to concerns concerning the moves of trees during a community meeting.

“I strongly oppose the reduction of trees in Altadena if the owner wants to keep them,” she said. “I was assured that the owners would benefit from at least five days of opinion before the start of the withdrawal of debris, as well as the possibility of understanding whether a tree on their property has been deemed dangerous or needs to be removed.”

Wynne Wilson examines the bark of a deodar cedar tree provided for withdrawal.

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

Altadena Green – whose other co -founders are Stephanie Landregan, Director of Landscape Architecture at UCLA Extension and Horticulture Programs, Arborist Drew Ready, the landscape architect Maggie Lobl and the Wynne Wilson landscape – has raised concerns with the body of the army for premature trees. Wilson hopes that the process will slow down because it fears that more trees are unnecessarily demolished. She said that several trees had been poorly identified, which would have an impact on the overall assessment of trees.

Wilson, who lost his house in the fire, has done its mission since doing what it can to protect the natural and historical beauty of Altadena. For years, visitors flocked to her garden to find out more about the native plants and grape varieties that she tended to.

“It’s really heartbreaking because the trees cannot speak for themselves-they need to take care of them,” she said.

The trees are loved in Altadena, emblematic of community ties with nature. For some, their losses hurt deeply, especially so shortly after disaster.

During a recent hot afternoon, she spotted several trees which, she said, had been wrongly tagged for withdrawal. Among them: a redwood and two sycomores. A resident had recorded panels on the trees on the sidewalk, not far from the remains of his house.

“Do not delete the tree,” said messages. “Sycomores must be saved!”

New growth on a charred tree is lit in the sun on the property of Wynne Wilson.

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

Brandon Perez’s family home on Rubio Street burned in the fire. Then, shortly after, the electricity company advised them to remove their giant Italian stone pine.

“It was so discouraging to see him go,” said Perez, 27. “It was definitely a second dagger.”

The tree had survived strong winds during the fire Eaton and was only slightly damaged. Tenecarela Arborist Nickolas Araya, who worked with the family, questioned the suggestion that the tree could have made a risk for the power lines.

“There was no reason for this to be reduced,” he said. “All – and I do not use this word lightly – all Los Angeles arborists met and we try to understand how to prevent it from happening.”

On Calaveras Street, Covarrubias had returned home for the first time since the trees were slaughtered. One of the trees had shaded his meditation garden, which had disappeared; The other sheltered his backyard of the burning sun, often while his dogs ran below. Squirrels and hawks would find a respite in the branches.

There were only two strains left.

For her disappointment, the cups were unleashed, not clean, leaving her with little hope that they could never push back. While other trees on his property remained, including the massive elm that supervises his house, the loss of oaks was heavy.

The cut branches are on the ground on the property of Wynne Wilson in Altadena.

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

Covarrubias, which has a state of health that has been aggravated by smoke toxins, does not know when or if it is able to go home. The sooner would be next January, she said, if the air was safe for her. The new loss of trees would make it more difficult.

Taking what was lost, she dusted the top of the strains. She knelt before them, one at a time, and silently paid her gratitude.

“I’m sorry I can’t save you.”