UPDATED: 1 Tree Falls After Strong Winds

Uprooted mature tree with exposed roots lying on grass before tall building with blue windows
An ailanthus tree fell near Sproul Hall Monday (May 18). (UC Davis photo)

Updated 3 p.m. May 21: Last weekend’s powerful winds initially only brought down branches, but a large tree near Sproul Hall toppled Monday night (May 18) after the strongest of the winds subsided.

The tree, an ailanthus, was on the north side of the building.


Man in white shirt by golf carts, beside large fallen tree branches on shaded street
Crews responded to 19 incidents of fallen branches at UC Davis after strong winds Sunday (May 17). (Gregory Urquiaga/UC Davis)

Original article, May 18: Winds gusting an estimated 40 mph Sunday (May 17) brought down branches across campus — some nearly three feet in diameter — but no full trees.

Tyson Mantor, assistant director of Grounds and Landscape Services in Facilities Management, said branches ranging 2–32 inches in diameter fell in 19 different places.

Branches damaged a cattle fence near Hopkins Road and some bicycles, Mantor said. An Aggie Alert about falling branches was issued Sunday.

Some 100 “high-risk” trees have been removed across campus in the last year, which is believed to have kept damage to a minimum, Mantor said. There are approximately 26,000 trees on the Davis campus.

Debris cleanup is expected to be completed by tomorrow.

Katie Hetrick contributed to this report.

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Cody Kitaura is the editor of Dateline UC Davis and can be reached by email or at 530-752-1932.

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