Residents fear ‘attack of the trees’ as aging giants wreak havoc

ST. LOUIS – A beautiful fall sight in the St. Louis Hills neighborhood creates unease for many residents.

"It happens every day," Bob Jackson said. "The tree limbs are falling. It doesn't have to be windy; it doesn't have to be stormy."

A fallen branch that totaled a car a few houses down is just the beginning of the damage he's seeing.

"Just from here," he said, "the houses you can see immediately around us; there are three homes that have been damaged."

Some of those trees damaging homes have been chopped down, but other old and dying trees remain a risk, according to resident Gary Carter.

"We're pretty concerned. We're thinking, 'Should we move before the trees destroy our home?'" Carter said.

In a view from above, you can see a limb that residents are concerned is about to drop right on someone walking by. "People's lives are in jeopardy, man," Jackson said.

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The St. Louis Forestry Division knows about it and agreed to look at residents' concerns when FOX 2 asked. Forestry Commissioner Alan Jankowski came out to the neighborhood personally.

"I don't think you can pinpoint one thing that's killing them," he said.

From lightning strikes to disease, Jankowski said sometimes it's just the trees' age, like one where he counted the rings, confirming it was over a century old.

"We've done a lot of work in this neighborhood," the commissioner said, explaining how nearly 30 trees have been cut down recently in this neighborhood alone. Others of concern, he says, will go on a six-month waiting list.

"Our crews are out there, and also, we have a contractor out there working to remove trees as quickly as we can," Jankowski said.

He said they have 80,000 street trees to maintain, like in the nearby Christy Park neighborhood where his crew was headed next. That's where Jon Overmann says he's been dodging treelimbs.

"We're worried about our families; we're worried about our vehicles," Overmann said. "Really this has been a problem for years. Departments have been shorthanded. We need the people."

Forestry says they're hiring because they are down about a dozen tree trimmers.

Here's what you can do.

In St. Louis, there's a special office set up to help solve problems. It's called the Citizen's Service Bureau (CSB). You can submit a tip online, message, or call them at 314-622-4800.

If you're interested in applying for one of the dozen open tree trimming positions, visit the city's web page and click on "Work for the City."

Meanwhile, Alderman Tom Oldenburg, whose ward includes St. Louis Hills, said he's also on board with helping, as he called the matter "more than a quality-of-life issue for many neighbors and residents. It is a safety issue.

"We all know the city's Forestry Department is short on manpower, which is why we need more funding dedicated to hiring third-party tree removal companies and partners. This will be a priority of mine in the coming fiscal budget for the city. Also, the city needs an operational plan that prioritizes neighborhoods (for tree removal and trimming) that have an abundance of street-lined trees reaching the end of their life expectancy."