Torrey Pine Down

Early in the morning on Friday, January 22, one of four large Torrey pine trees fell down at Ada Harris elementary school. The tree, which suffered nearly a week of heavy rain and wind, was easily taller than a three-story building.

A fence was destroyed by the gigantic tree, which blocked the entrance to one of the school’s main gates. The tree's ripped roots were exposed, and a huge hole was left on the playground's hill. The school’s custodians removed the tree, limb by limb, for over seven hours.

The trees were planted in 1959, when Ada Harris School was first built. When the new Ada Harris School was built in 2002, the plans called for cutting down the trees. My parents told me that a neighborhood girl, who was eight years old, didn’t want the trees to be gone. She asked her teacher if she could start a petition to save the trees. She gathered 600 signatures and the plans were changed and the trees were saved.