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It's not today's weather causing big trees to topple, experts say

By Greg Suskin, wsoctv.com
By Greg Suskin, wsoctv.com

FORT MILL, S.C. — At least two homes in South Carolina suffered heavy damage when trees fell during heavy rains.

It was barely drizzling Thursday night and there was almost no wind, but when Rita Terry heard a crackling sound outside her Chester County home she hesitated to look out and survey the damage.

A tree had crashed through the roof of her neighbor's mobile home on Pinckney Road. Fortunately, the neighbor's family was not home at the time.

"We heard a crackling, and I looked that way and the tree was going down. It was like it was in slow motion," Terry said.

[STORY: More rain on the way after days of storms flooded streets, uprooted trees]

A close look at the trunk of the fallen tree reveals that it was hollow, almost hollow enough for an adult to crawl inside, and there were hardly any roots.

Steve Crump, with Rolling Hill Nursery in Rock Hill, has been in the tree business for close to 40 years. He said it's not this week's rain causing such destruction, but years and years of other problems.

"It all goes back to the drought years, which put some of these older, what you call 'grand' trees, under stress," Crump said.

The recent rain has caused trees to leaf out in a big way this year, putting extra weight on the limbs and pressure on the whole tree.

"Most of them have huge canopies this year. Any kind of wind, that's like a parachute," Crump said.

That's likely what happened on Ginger Lane in Fort Mill on Friday morning. A large limb snapped off a tree and crushed a bedroom at Freida Hilton's home.

"I was up fixing coffee and heard a boom and breaking glass," Hilton said.

The breaking glass was in the bedroom where her grandchildren usually stay when they visit. Fortunately, they're not here this week.

"That tree the branch fell from is easily 100 years old," Hilton said.

[STORY: 6 children in Myers Park home crushed by large tree]

Experts said there are man-made problems, too. Development, such as encroaching parking lots, streets and sidewalks, weakens a tree’s root system.

And sometimes, trees are just old and nearing the end of their life span.

"Some of these oak trees - especially Myers Park, Dilworth area - those trees are 100 years old," Crump said.

You may think you can tell the condition a tree is in by looking at it, but that's not always true. Experts say that's why a certified arborist should inspect the tree and let you know if there’s a problem before it comes down on its own.

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