A large tree branch crashed onto a Vancouver street Tuesday night (June 13), smashing a parked car in the process.
A resident near West 15th Avenue and Balsam Street shared a photo of the incident on Facebook, noting that "a number of branches have fallen in that area" and that there were no injuries.
A spokesperson for the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation tells V.I.A. that it was a section of stem that fell from a mature Lombardy Poplar tree in the area Tuesday evening.
The street is currently cordoned off while the City of Vancouver Urban Forestry team and BC Hydro clear the area.
"Tree branches fall from time to time for a number of reasons, including disease, damage from insect infestations and weather-related events," the spokesperson says.
The Park Board recently finished planting between 2,000 and 3,000 trees around the city to help build up an urban forest and increase canopy cover. The process also replaces trees lost due to old age, storms, and disease.
Meanwhile, a team of arborists inspect trees for "structural defects and site conditions that may result in higher levels of risk" during routine risk assessments, says the spokesperson.
"Unfortunately, not all branch failures are possible to anticipate despite annual inspections," they add.
