Arborists Warning Of Toppling Trees After Heavy Rainfall Locally

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- When 48,000 pounds of tree falls onto your house – as it did in a Washington D.C. neighborhood – there is an obvious dollar loss and relief that it wasn't worse.

"Really fortunate to be alive and to be safe," said homeowner Mark Fuller, whose top floor was destroyed.

Over the past month, heavy rain has made conditions perfect for bringing down trees.

"That's caused a lot of tree damage. We've had trees at this time primarily uprooted because the soil is saturated. The soil is now loose. It's more of a slurry than solid," said Kevin Mullinary, an arborist with Davey Tree Expert Company.

Arborists say there are warning signs that a tree might be at risk for falling, like going from straight to an angle.

"It's basically pulling up the backside of the root system. The rain was causing the soil to be softer, so it allowed that tree to come over much easier," Mullinary said.

Other things to watch for are missing bark that could kill tissue inside the tree, and mushrooms on the trunk or major roots could indicate decay. Since the heavy rains began a month ago, Davey has seen a 25 percent increase in the number of calls for tree damage.

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