Massive tree falls onto Sherman Oaks home, causing major damage

A massive eucalyptus tree fell onto a home in Sherman Oaks Thursday afternoon, causing severe damage and leaving it red tagged, unsafe for habitation.

It happened at the 3900 block of Dixie Canyon Avenue, and there were no injuries because nobody was home at the time.

"I heard a big crash," said neighbor Laura Ginsburg. "This is the fifth tree we've had come down in this neighborhood, the trees are really sketchy. It's horrible, when they come home it's gonna be horrifying."

Gregg Buskett of Sherman Oaks Tree Service examined the fallen tree with FOX 11.

"I can't believe this didn't fall over years ago," he said. "Dry rot, you can even feel it, these roots are completely rotten. There's fungus, it's spongey, these aren't roots anymore."

He told FOX11 that the drought has left many trees in the southland unhealthy, and when a rainstorm hits, the soil becomes saturated and leaves the tree even more unstable.

"At the end of the day it was age and I think it was maybe just a breeze at the right time and it was the straw that broke the camels back," he said. "The last 40 years that I've been doing this we've lost a lot of these trees on Dixie Canyon, they used to line the street, the Euks, now there's only 4 or 5 left they should probably come down and obviously this one did today."

Buskett says the biggest indication of trouble is a leaning tree, but there are other warning signs as well.

"You can see discoloration, you can see dye back, more obvious signs you can see large hunks of fungus around the base," he said. "Take a look at your house, do a little self inspection, if you think somthing is unsafe, call me or any other licensed contractor, we usually come out and give a free estimate and it's worth it."