SLO County high school shears eucalyptus trees behind baseball fields. Here’s why

Vicious winter winds and pounding rain resulted in more than postponed games and disappointed players at Coast Union High School’s baseball field.

Four of the five stately eucalyptus trees behind the bleachers have received a remarkable change.

What the Cambria school did was far more than mere pruning. The trees were shorn down to the bark. Naked trunks and limbs are a stark contrast to what visitors to the baseball field have seen over the years.

Asked why the trees needed such a dramatic shearing, Don Adams, Coast’s director of maintenance, operations and transportation, said safety was at the heart of the decision.

“Several large branches came down during one of the early winter storms,” Adams replied in an email.

“We had a professional come inspect the trees and we were advised several other branches were ready to come down as well.”

So the school hired “a professional tree-trimming service to trim them back,” Adams explained.

As the district safety coordinator, Adams said his “No. 1 concern must be the safety of our students, staff and all members of the community who use our facilities.”

Could the frequent foul balls that arch over the screen and the bleachers — and are normally stopped by the lush eucalyptus greenery — cause harm to the newly erected greenhouse behind the trees?

Adams said the greenhouse panels “are made of high-strength, impact resistant polyurethane.”

“If a ball happens to damage a panel, we do have extra panels.”

A foul ball did smack into the greenhouse in early March, during the first game played, he said. It bounced harmlessly away.

“As you know, damage to vehicles, buildings, etc., can be repaired or replaced,” Adams said. “But a human life cannot.”