Expert arborist examines Richmond trees after 2 fall on homes: 'Oh wow!'

RICHMOND, Va. — Two large city-owned oak trees fell on homes in a Richmond Northside neighborhood just before the Fourth of July, raising concerns among neighbors about the safety of other trees in the area.

After CBS 6 highlighted neighbors' concerns, the city promised to conduct an extensive review and assessment of mature trees in the area in the coming weeks.

On Thursday, CBS 6 learned that review was now underway, and six trees had already been identified for removal.

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In the meantime, CBS 6 investigative reporter Melissa Hipolit connected with an arborist who examined the trees.

Joel Koci, a board-certified master arborist who is tree risk assessment qualified by the International Society of Arborists, said the trees need maintenance.

"Pruning is an art and a science, proper pruning I should say, is an art and a science," Koci said.

Hipolit met Koci in the Rosedale neighborhood, where the two large oak trees recently fell on homes. Residents told her they're worried about the safety of the city-owned trees that line their streets.

Watch: Richmond to assess large willow oak trees after two fall during storm

Koci immediately noticed something neighbors had pointed out - on the street side of the trees, the limbs grew toward the sky rather than leaning over the street, but on the house side, limbs extended out toward houses and then hung down.

"You can see the overextended limbs, see how long those are and reaching. The torque and force on that trunk on those limbs is astronomical. There are ways that you can prune the ends of those limbs and reduce the torque and likelihood of failure," Koci said.

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Grady Hart, who lives across the street from where one of the trees fell, told Hipolit he was worried about the trees, which grow in a small strip of land between the sidewalk and the road, and don't appear to have large roots on the street side.

"I would do some corrective pruning," Koci said. "This is a living organism. It needs maintenance from time to time to help ensure its safety and also its health."

Koci said that pruning should be done per ANSI or ISA standards for the best results.

We asked the city when they expect to complete their assessment of the trees in Rosedale.

"The assessment of the trees within the Rosedale community is underway," City of Richmond spokesperson Paige Hairston said. "Currently, six trees have been identified for removal. Pruning is also part of the evaluation process and will be conducted by certified arborists. Routine maintenance will be ongoing in this area as part of a multiyear management approach. The assessment will be complete in the next 10 business days."

CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.

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This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. To learn more about how we use AI in our newsroom, click here.