Two Killed in Collapse of Large Tree in Point Loma

Large tree collapsed onto 2-story house on 4400 block of Santa Monica Ave in Point Loma. Screen grab from Fox5.

UPDATED: Two people were killed when a massive pine tree collapsed onto a two-story house in the 4400 block of Santa Monica Avenue in Point Loma Monday morning, authorities said. The tree fell around 6 a.m.

Fox5 reports a man and woman who were on the second story of the house died. A third person who was on the first story was rescued by firefighters. He was not hurt.

“It was horrendous. I’ve never heard anything like it. It was crashing and people yelling,” a neighbor told FOX 5. “The tree has been here as long as I’ve moved here 50 years ago. It’s been pruned and re-pruned. It was an accident waiting to happen.”

Several power lines in the area were down due to the fallen tree. San Diego Gas & Electric crews were at the property working on them. SDFRD official said it could be hours before officials could get to the deceased couple due to the power lines and structural damage. The National Weather Service recorded wind gusts of 40 mph during the time the tree fell.

Here is an update from 7SanDiegoNBC:

The tree with a trunk about as wide as a person landed on the home at the intersection of Santa Monica Avenue and Santa Barbara Street near Ocean Beach, the San Diego Police Department said.

Two people were believed to be sleeping in a bed on the upper floor when the tree came down at about 6:15 a.m., according to SDPD Lt. Christian Sharp. Their identities were not yet known.

When SDPD arrived, a neighbor was using a ladder to try to reach the people inside through a window,  Sharp said.

The massive tree caused significant damage to the structure of the home and was hindering crews from reaching the people inside, Sharp said.

Officers were able to rescue one person who was downstairs at the time.

“There’s so much damage to that house that we would have to go back in there, remove the tree and have to be able to clear some of the other areas,” Sharp said.

Crews were also dealing with a gas leak within the home, preventing them from going inside.

Live power lines had gone down up to a half-block away from the crushed home, Sharp said.

San Diego Gas & Electric was called to turn off power and gas flow to the home.

A neighbor identified as John said he heard the tree crack early Monday. He estimated that the Torrey pine, one of four large trees in the neighborhood, was anywhere between 75 feet to 100 feet tall.

“This tree has just been waiting to be blown over,” John told NBC 7. “When I looked out the window, I could tell the tree – it’s gone.”

Sharp said he did not know of any problems with the tree prior to its collapse and said the accident was unusual.

“We don’t see this sort of damage and with the fatalities, it’s very rare in San Diego,” he said.

The tree collapsed during a high wind warning for San Diego, which predicted that gusts along the coast could reach 25 miles per hour. It followed about a week’s worth of rain in the region that dumped inches of rain along the coast.

NBC 7 Meteorologist Sheena Parveen said that while typically a 25 mph gust would not be strong enough to topple a tree, if the tree was already on soft ground and had root issues, gusty winds could contribute.