Tree falls, strikes two Merced homes

A large, decades-old tree fell Monday with a loud crash, striking two homes but causing no injuries, according to homeowners in the Kathryn Court cul-de-sac.

It was around noon, and Ron Caplener, 63, was lying on his bed in his home when he heard the tree fall. Described as a Raywood ash by city workers, the tree hit the corner of Caplener’s home so hard, he felt it lift him off the ground.

“What I heard sounded like a giant explosion,” he said.

He walked outside to find the tree leaning against his and a neighbor’s homes. It took out a portion of a roughly foot-tall brick wall that surround a flowerbed, and a piece of the sidewalk was torn out where the tree was uprooted.

Caplener said the home was built in 1977, and he assumed the tree was planted shortly after that.

A Public Works Department crew was at the scene within 30 minutes. They started dissembling the tree at the top with a chain saw and worked their way toward the stump, tossing wood into a chipper as they went.

Roman Scanlon, 31, who lives two houses over, said he heard a loud “whoosh” before his windows rattled when the tree fell.

Public works crews were busy Monday responding to more reports of fallen trees or branches, according to city spokesman Mike Conway.

“Shallow-rooted trees don’t do well when you have wet weather,” he said. “It’s been a very busy, busy day.”

Before the winter season, he said, city crews checked the health of trees around the city. They removed more than 100 trees found to be unhealthy.

California homeowners insurance plans cover falling objects, according to Peter Padilla, an agent with State Farm Insurance. “Normally, each homeowner takes care of his own damage,” he said.

Winds were gusty in many parts of the state. Merced sat just east of the area under a high-wind warning from the National Weather Service in Hanford, said meteorologist Cindy Bean. The city did see winds between 25 mph and 35 mph, she said.

“It’s likely the gusts were the bigger problem,” she said.

This story was originally published February 1, 2016 at 1:34 PM with the headline "Tree falls, strikes two Merced homes."