Video: Large Ficus Tree Falls Near the Foot of Potrero Avenue

"A large ficus tree came down during Tuesday's storm near the intersection of Potrero Avenue and Alameda Street, near the 101 freeway overpass. San Francisco's Public Works Department documented the fallen tree just after 9:30 am Tuesday, advising the public to avoid that area of Potrero Avenue, near where it terminates at Division Street. The tree's trunk and roots appears to have failed and the whole, mature tree fell, taking part of the sidewalk up with it."

"Ficus trees like this one are common street trees in San Francisco, and while many residents love them, the oldest ones with the largest canopies are also the most unstable and prone to failure like this, causing potential hazards to pedestrians and cars. The Public Works Department has a whole web page on the topic, given that the removal of these trees as was done in a larger effort on 24th Street in the Mission in recent years tends to be controversial."

""Multiple, competing branches are the most common reason [for ficus trees to fail]," the department says. "These multiple branches will split apart from each other causing limbs to suddenly fall off the tree." Public Works has not allowed the planting of ficuses as street trees since the 1990s, they say, because of "the amount of sidewalk damage and other infrastructure damage that is caused by the roots of the species and the species' history of large limb failures.""

A large ficus tree toppled during a Tuesday storm near Potrero Avenue and Alameda Street by the 101 overpass. San Francisco Public Works documented the fall after 9:30 am and advised avoiding Potrero Avenue near Division Street. The trunk and roots failed, pulling up part of the sidewalk. Mature ficus trees are common but the oldest with the largest canopies are prone to sudden failure, posing hazards to pedestrians and vehicles. Public Works cites multiple competing branches as the main cause. Planting of ficuses as street trees has been banned since the 1990s because of root and limb damage, and removal efforts have occurred in Hayes Valley and the Mission.

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