High winds topple tree in San Luis Obispo

As strong winds blew through San Luis Obispo on Tuesday night, resident Brian Spaulding went outside about 10 p.m. to check on a large eucalyptus tree in his yard.

“I looked up and saw the thing swaying back and forth, really far,” he recalled Wednesday. “I came inside and said if ever there was a night that tree was going to come down it would be tonight. About two hours later I heard some crackling sounds and then a crash.”

The tree, estimated somewhere between 40 and 50 feet tall and 30 years old, fell over and landed mostly on his neighbor’s home, though branches were resting on both houses Wednesday on Lobelia Lane. No one was injured, but the incident scared the Spauldings’ 7-year-old daughter, who was worried about her friend inside the home.

Spaulding said he and his neighbors had recently been talking about how to prune the tree, which would probably have required a crane. Now, it’s probably going to take a crane to get the tree off the property.

Spaulding said his family has fond memories of the tree and plans for the trunk: “We’ve lived there over 10, 11 years and we’ve had piñatas on it, a tree swing on it. We plan to keep the trunk. We’ll try to hollow out the side to make a log bench.”

The pattern of fresh to strong — or 19 mph to 31 mph — Santa Lucia winds developing during the night and morning hours will continue through Thursday, according to PG&E meteorologist John Lindsey.

That will be followed by strong to gale-force (25 to 38 mph) northwesterly winds during the afternoon hours Friday through Saturday, decreasing during the night and morning hours, which could see fog and drizzle on the coastline.

A cold front is forecast to move through the Central Coast on Sunday night into Monday morning with rain showers.

This story was originally published March 16, 2016 at 2:52 PM with the headline "High winds topple tree in San Luis Obispo."