California Drought Increases Danger Of 'Widowmakers' For Firefighters
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Firefighters call them widowmakers, and they're living up to their name after a falling tree killed one of their own.
The U.S. Forest Service blames California's four-year drought for a number of dead trees. Firefighters go through intense training to deal with the dead trees.
Firefighters are battling dehydration along the fire lines, but now they're up against diseased trees with a high fall risk.
"These trees are drought stressed so they're essentially dying," said Capt. James Thornock. "Widowmakers are going to be—those limbs hanging up here on this tree that haven't quite separated from the tree, but they're hung up there still. They don't look real big but they can weigh anywhere from 20 to 30 pounds."
The situation isn't just a forest danger; urban trees are also giving way. A massive tree fell in Rocklin on cars and trailers, just missing the people inside. Just last month, a 70-foot pine tree fell on a group of children at a Southern California park, injuring eight kids, leaving two in critical condition.
On Saturday, a falling tree killed U.S. Forest Service firefighter Michael Hallenbeck as he battled a small wildfire.
"We're seeing tree death on an unprecedented scale," said local arborist Chad Dykstra.
He says he's had a 900 percent increase in business this year.
"It's sort of a sad story but really probably over 1,000 trees will be removed this year that are dead where typically we may remove 100 or 200 a year," he said. "It's a perfect storm for dead trees."
