Trees topple again at Penn Park in Whittier

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WHITTIER >> Heavy rains on Friday afternoon toppled two large trees at Penn Park in Whittier, just over a month after a massive tree toppled onto a wedding party at the same park, killing the mother of the bride and injuring seven other people, officials said.
A park bench was crushed at Penn Park, 13950 Penn Street, when a eucalyptus tree and an oak tree fell during the storm, but no injuries were reported, Whittier police Lt. Bryan Ellis said.
Another tree also fell at Murphy Ranch Park, 16200 Las Cumbres Drive, during the storm, Whittier City Manager Jeff Collier said. Both parks were closed until further notice. And other trees fell on private property throughout Whittier, as well as Los Angeles County, during the storm.
And with more heavy rain expected on Sunday, city officials also closed the picnic areas of Palm and Parnell parks, which are surrounded by tall trees, as a precaution, Collier said.
“We’ll have to be monitoring the soil conditions,” he said. “The ground is just so saturated.”
Another toppled tree fell onto Portada Drive on Friday.
Penn Park reopened earlier this month after it was closed following the fatal incident on Dec. 17, which claimed the life of 61-year-old Margarita Mojarro of San Pedro.
An arborist inspected the trees at Penn Park before it was reopened to the public, officials said.
All of the trees that fell on Friday appeared to have uprooted and tipped over, rather than snapped at their trunks, Collier said.
“The trees, we feel, are in good, stable condition,” he said. “We’ve just had so much water in such a short time.”
Officials were at Penn Park inspecting the fallen eucalyptus tree when the oak tree gave way, Collier said.
“While we were standing there, we could here a popping sound,” he said. “It just went over. The soil couldn’t hold the tree.”
With more rain on the way, Collier encouraged residents to take precautions to protect their homes and businesses from the deluge by making sure drains are open and taking any other necessary measures to mitigate potential damage.

PHOTO courtesy of Andrew Luera

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