Attack of the trees: Aging giants wreak havoc in Missouri neighborhood

ST. LOUIS (KTVI) – Problematic trees in a Missouri neighborhood have left residents on edge, with falling limbs damaging property and city crews facing delays in cutting them down.

“It happens every day,” Bob Jackson told Nexstar's KTVI. “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 is just the beginning of the damage Jackson said he has seen around the St. Louis Hills neighborhood.

"Just from here," he said, "the houses you can see immediately around us; there are three homes that have been damaged. ... People’s lives are in jeopardy, man."

Some of the trees have been chopped down while others remain a risk.

“We’re pretty concerned. We’re thinking, ‘Should we move before the trees destroy our home?’” resident Gary Carter said.

The St. Louis Forestry Division said it's aware of the situation and agreed to look at residents’ concerns. Forestry Commissioner Alan Jankowski also visited the neighborhood this week.

“I don’t think you can pinpoint one thing that’s killing them,” Jankowski said of the trees.

The commissioner explained that factors like lightning strikes, disease, or simply old age can take a toll on trees, citing one over a century old based on its rings.

“We’ve done a lot of work in this neighborhood,” Jankowski said, adding that nearly 30 trees have been cut down recently and other hazardous trees will be put on a six-month waiting list.

The city is responsible for maintaining 80,000 trees that line streets throughout the St. Louis area, including in the nearby Christy Park neighborhood, which also has an aging tree problem.

"We’re worried about our families; we’re worried about our vehicles,” said Christy Park resident Jon Overmann. "Really, this has been a problem for years. Departments have been shorthanded."

The forestry department said it is hiring to fill a shortage of about a dozen tree trimmers.

Alderman Tom Oldenburg, whose ward includes St. Louis Hills, said he’s on board with helping.

“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," Oldenburg said. "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.”