EL CAJON (KGTV) — This week's powerful winds and rain are motivating people to trim their trees before the next storm approaches. ABC 10News spoke to contractors who recommend maintaining your trees, especially in light of a recent accident that took the life of a City Heights man.
ABC 10news visited El Cajon where homeowners said the winds from this past week were the last straw. Landscapers came on Saturday to clean up the yard and trim the trees as owners take precautions for upcoming storms.
It's a patient and deliberate process. Contractors cut up trees and put together large piles of leaves and branches to make sure neighbors and their homes are safe, especially when the winds and rain come through.
The trees being trimmed are 70 to 80 feet tall.
Victor Hugo Martinez, a contractor, recommends trimming your trees every year.
"If you own a house, you have to keep a trimmer like a small, not too long like the branches, it has to be short branches so that way you know with the wind is very strong it doesn't break apart," Martinez said.
For one family, wind dangers became deadly on Christmas Eve. A man was killed after a tree branch fell on him in the City Heights neighborhood, according to officials with the San Diego Fire Rescue Department.
In an interview with ABC 10News, leaders with the department sent a message to stay vigilant about safety in this kind of weather.
"Just remind your viewers today that everyone needs to be very vigilant, right? We have crazy rain, we have crazy weather, and Mother Nature, unfortunately will bring, you know, the wind and the rain," Craig Newell, the battalion chief for the San Diego Fire Rescue Department, said.
In El Cajon Saturday, contractors cut eucalyptus and pine trees, making sure the branches won't hit neighboring homes.
Martinez says it's important to do regular maintenance for the safety of property and people.
"It's better to, you know, cut it or so you keep it safety from your car or your house or your walkway, you know, so that way. Just in case if it's raining too hard or the wind is blowing hard, you know," Martinez said.
El Cajon wasn't alone. The City of San Diego told us Friday it had removed 60 fallen trees since Christmas.
The family of the man killed by the tree branch in City Heights made a GoFundMe page. Click here for more information.
This story was reported on-air 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.
