Oaks storm danger

By Tania Martin
KALLISTA residents have called for the Shire of Yarra Ranges to take better care of a group of heritage-listed oak trees after one fell during last week’s storms.
They were also concerned at the length of time it took to clear the road of debris.
Resident Jenny Hoogland said shire staff and Vic Roads staff were at a stand-off over who was responsible for the tree.
James Martin, Shire of Yarra Ranges manager of communications, said the tree belonged to the shire but, because it was a curbside tree, it had to be determined which authority was responsible before the clean-up could get under way.
Resident and Kallista volunteer firefighter Andy Carlin said he was on his way home from Monbulk when the tree fell at 6.30pm on Thursday.
Mr Carlin said the tree fell on Monbulk Rd and powerlines, cutting the power to most of the town. He said the tree also hit a car.
Mrs Hoogland said the clean-up lasted all night, with chain saws and chippers operating from 10pm to 4.30am. She said no one in her family slept that night, but she understood that the workers had a job to do.
She and Mr Carlin, who live on the main street, believed the council should keep a closer watch on the remaining heritage-listed trees because several had branches and limbs that are dying or that appear unhealthy.
Mr Carlin said he made a formal request last week for the council to have an arborist assess the trees.
“Our main concern is that if they are not looked after we will lose more of these trees,” he said.
However, Mr Martin said the shire’s arborist inspected the heritage-listed trees along Monbulk Rd on an annual basis, and also performed occasional drive-by inspections to make sure they were in good health.
He said on this occasion the trees were healthy, but weather conditions caused limbs to fall. “It was a combination of a hot day, the storm and heavy rain that caused the limbs to fall. There was no sign of decay,” he said.
Tthe Knox State Emergency Service was also extremely busy on the evenings of Thursday 26 and Friday 27 January.
Karen Afif, Knox CES deputy controller, said the unit was called to more than 100 jobs resulting from wind and heavy rain over the two-day period.
Despite having 16 people and four vehicles on the road, Knox CES had to enlist the help of units from Keilor, St Kilda, Doncaster and Croydon to cope with the number of severe incidents.
No one was injured.
The most severe incident happened when a tree landed on a two -storey house in Mercia Avenue, The Basin.
Ms Afif said the male resident had gone outside to take in his washing, only to turn and see the tree fall and demolish his house.