Chattanooga: Rains, drought bringing down trees

When he heard the huge crash outside Thursday night, Dennis Vanhorn knew exactly what it was.

So he grabbed a flashlight and ran to help, though there was little he could do.

The tall red oak tree already had demolished his next-door neighbors’ home at 742 Roberta Drive, killing a 7-year-old boy inside.

With three years of drought followed by months of rain, trees are falling in huge numbers in the area. In the city of Chattanooga, the number of trees and limbs falling between March and May is almost four times higher this year than in 2007, records show.

Along with the Rossville home, trees fell on two houses in Signal Mountain Thursday morning, part of what one veteran tree service operator called “the worst tree carnage we’ve seen” since the April 2007 freeze.

Other recent area deaths were caused by fallen trees. In April, 18-year-old Michael Aaron Byers Jr. was killed when a massive oak tree fell on the family’s house in Etowah, Tenn. On Feb. 1, Terry Rasmus, 51, of Houston, was killed by a tree while sleeping in his camper at the I-75 Campground in Athens, Tenn., at about 3 a.m. Mr. Rasmus’ wife Anita also was injured in the incident.

trying to help

When Mr. Vanhorn reached his neighbors’ house, he heard Linda Tomas screaming but could not reach her in the tangled mess that crushed more than half the home.

Seven-year-old Christian Lucas, in the front bedroom, was killed by the tree. His grandmother, Ms. Tomas, was listed in critical condition at Erlanger hospital Friday afternoon.

Beverly Brown also was in the home with her 6-year-old daughter Shyanne and 22-month-old son Eric.

“I was in the back bedroom. The roof came in on me and my daughter,” Mrs. Brown said Friday morning.

It took nearly four hours for Walker County emergency workers to free Ms. Tomas and Eric from the home.

On Friday, Ms. Brown cried as she stood under the eve of a neighbor’s house in the pouring rain, looking at the smashed house.

“All my pictures of my nephew and everything right now is getting destroyed,” she said. “Everything we had was in that house.”

One neighbor said that, when the tree fell, it made his whole house shake and sounded like a bomb exploding.

Mr. Vanhorn, who has lived next door for 25 years, said the fallen tree has leaned for some time toward the house but in recent weeks began tilting closer to the roof.

He said a tree branch fell through the home’s living room more than seven years ago.

DROUGHT AND RAIN

Over the past few weeks, heavy rains have soaked the top 2 to 3 feet of soil in the area, causing root systems to loosen. Combined with sap-filled trees and heavy leaves, that creates a recipe for trees to fall, two area tree experts said.

City of Chattanooga Forester Gene Hyde said some trees that appear to be healthy can be dead or decaying on the inside or in their root systems, which adds more danger of falling unexpectedly.

Recent drought years also indirectly are related to tree falls, Mr. Hyde said.

During droughts, many trees’ defenses weaken, making them susceptible to disease. That can destroy trees’ support structure and cause them to fall in wet soils or high winds, he said.

What’s different this year is that some trees are falling in the middle of the day during calm weather, said Jerry Roberts, owner of Roberts Tree Service, a Chattanooga-based business that serves areas from Ooltewah to Trenton, Ga.

Mr. Roberts said there are many ways to manage trees, either by trimming, cabling or cutting them down.

He said he is worried that the recent spate of tree falls would lead to what he calls “tree hysteria.” Residents will see a downed tree or hear about someone injured or killed by a tree and cut down trees that don’t need to be cut, Mr. Roberts said.

Both Mr. Hyde and Mr. Roberts said renters and homeowners should have trees inspected by a professional to make sure they are healthy and don’t have a “target in their path.” A target is any structure or area that the tree could hit if it fell — a home, roadway, driveway or even a yard where people walk, mow or work, Mr. Hyde said.

Residents should contact tree specialists certified through the International Society of Arboriculture, he said.

Staff photographer Angela Lewis contributed to this story.