Rain on Saturday (Feb. 24) may have been the last straw for a dying tree in the 800 block of Ridge Avenue in Festus. The tree toppled that evening, smashing a car and knocking down power lines, city officials reported.
“It rotted off at the base and just fell over,” building official and Public Works director Matt Clemens said.
The city’s Public Works Department, the Festus Fire Department and the Festus Police Department responded to the incident.
The Fire Department blocked the road and secured the scene until Ameren arrived to pull the electric service.
The Public Works Department doesn’t work on private property, so it removed about three quarters of the tree – the parts lying anywhere from the owner’s property line to the center of the street, Clemens said.
“It was a big, big tree,” he said.
It took three Public Works employees two to three hours to clear the mess from the roadway, he said.
Clemens said he did not know what caused the tree to fall, although the city received a lot of rain that day, but very little wind, he said.
Neighbor Greg Meyer, who lost his power in the incident, said he was pleased that the city, fire, police and Ameren took care of the problem so quickly.
“I just want to give a shout out to the city of Festus and Ameren and say, ‘Thank you,’” he said.
Rain on Saturday (Feb. 24) may have been the last straw for a dying tree in the 800 block of Ridge Avenue in Festus. The tree toppled that evening, smashing a car and knocking down power lines, city officials reported.
“It rotted off at the base and just fell over,” building official and Public Works director Matt Clemens said.
The city’s Public Works Department, the Festus Fire Department and the Festus Police Department responded to the incident.
The Fire Department blocked the road and secured the scene until Ameren arrived to pull the electric service.
The Public Works Department doesn’t work on private property, so it removed about three quarters of the tree – the parts lying anywhere from the owner’s property line to the center of the street, Clemens said.
“It was a big, big tree,” he said.
It took three Public Works employees two to three hours to clear the mess from the roadway, he said.
Clemens said he did not know what caused the tree to fall, although the city received a lot of rain that day, but very little wind, he said.
Neighbor Greg Meyer, who lost his power in the incident, said he was pleased that the city, fire, police and Ameren took care of the problem so quickly.
“I just want to give a shout out to the city of Festus and Ameren and say, ‘Thank you,’” he said.