Triana Anderson, a master’s student in Geosciences, collects a core sample of a fallen tree beside another tree that collapsed onto a facilities services truck at SF State on March 14, 2023. (Dan Hernandez for Golden Gate Xpress) (Dan Hernandez)
Triana Anderson, a master’s student in Geosciences, collects a core sample of a fallen tree beside another tree that collapsed onto a facilities services truck at SF State on March 14, 2023. (Dan Hernandez for Golden Gate Xpress)
A campus maintenance vehicle was hit by a tree as it provided services to a previously fallen tree outside of Thornton Hall. According to Kent Bravo, SF State media relations specialist, no one was inside the truck when the second tree fell and there were no injuries related to it.
Earth and climate science students take cores and measure a Monterey cypress tree that fell on an SF State vehicle near Thornton Hall at SF State in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, March 14, 2023. (Aaron Levy-Wolins/Golden Gate Xpress) (Aaron Levy-Wolins)
According to the National Weather Service, SF State surrounding areas are experiencing wind speed of 48 mph. The agency placed the area under hazardous weather conditions and a high wind warning until 11 p.m. today.
The Office of Emergency Services sent a campus-wide statement asking the community to “exercise increased caution while traveling” and to stay away from closed-off areas.
Associate Professor of Climate Science Alexander Stine was out on the scene with his research group collecting specimens.
“We heard a tree was down and we grabbed our bores and we came down,” Stine said.
Stiner’s students were able to identify the tree as a Monterey Cypress of less than 100 years old.
According to Geography & Environment lecturer faculty, Quentin Clark and Kurt Menning, the probability of the recent tree falls are related to the huge amount of water on the soil.
“Trees blown over (windthrow) are common in winter when soils are really wet,” Menning said in an email. “This is common with supersaturated soils because they weaken, structurally, and the roots are unable to hold the tree upright.”
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Earth and climate science professor Alexander “Zan” Stine (middle bottom) and his research team take cores and measure a Monterey cypress tree that fell on an SF State vehicle near Thornton Hall at SF State in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, March 14, 2023. (Aaron Levy-Wolins/Golden Gate Xpress)
Strong winds caused two trees to fall over, crushing a facilities services truck and damaging equipment, at SF State near Thornton Hall on March 14, 2023. (Dan Hernandez for Golden Gate Xpress)
Earth and climate science professor Alexander “Zan” Stine and graduate student Triana Anderson point to measurements they took after a Monterey cypress tree fell on an SF State vehicle near Thornton Hall at SF State in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, March 14, 2023. (Aaron Levy-Wolins/Golden Gate Xpress)
Leticia Luna (she/her) is the managing editor for Golden Gate Xpress. Leti has been pursuing a career in journalism since her time at Laney College, where she was editor-in-chief of the college's student publication The Citizen. Connecting to people and giving them voices is what brought her to journalism. Leticia was an audience intern at the San Francisco Chronicle last summer before transferring to SF State. In her spare time, Leti can be found exploring the outdoors and hanging out with her friends.
Aaron Levy-Wolins is a senior photojournalism student who specializes in portraiture. He has spent multiple semesters with the Golden Gate Xpress newspaper, working as a photographer. San Francisco Bay Area born and bred, his work has been published in SFBay, El Tecolote, and Broke-Ass Stuart. While his passion is photography, he loves watching movies and cooking. He plans to freelance and travel after graduation.
