Tree falls on campus maintenance vehicle as it attends other fallen tree

The two trees were at least the second and third massive trees to fall on campus this year

March 14, 2023

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.

Last month, a Monterey pine fell on the Fine Arts building, leaving no damage to the facilities or injuries to personnel.

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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About the Contributors

Leticia Luna, Editor-In-Chief

Letícia Luna (she/her) is the Editor-in-Chief 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. Letícia was an audience intern at the San Francisco Chronicle during summer 2022 before transferring to SF State. In her spare time, Leti can be found exploring the outdoors and hanging out with her friends.

Dan Hernandez, Visuals Editor

Dan Hernandez (he/him) is the Visuals Editor for Golden Gate Xpress, majoring in journalism and minoring in business administration. He is an award-winning multimedia journalist, applying his skills in both news reporting and press photography. He got his start in journalism at 15 years old as a staff writer for The Advocate at Contra Costa College before becoming editor-in-chief as a high school senior. Outside of journalism, he is probably camping on a road trip, playing water polo, riding his bike or dancing at concerts. He also goes by the nickname “Biscuit.”

Aaron Levy-Wolins, Xpress Magazine Photo Editor

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.

Tree falls on campus maintenance vehicle as it attends other fallen tree

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