The Trouble With Trees and Utility Poles! And Wind!

National Grid was busy dealing with three downed trees in the city on Tuesday night and much of Wednesday after the storm blew through town.  One of the three trees that combined to knock out power to all, or nearly all, of the city was located on the west side of the entrance to 810 Union.  The entire tree toppled in the wind, bringing down a utility pole just beyond the east side of the entrance, with the top of the tree reaching all the way across the adjacent parking lot entrance of the ophthalmology office.  Unsurprisingly, it didn't seem to have much of a root structure at all.

The local National Grid crews were so busy that a crew from Albany was called in to help out on Union.  The tree was chopped up and the pole it ruined was replaced with a new one on Wednesday early afternoon.  Electric lines were reattached, and the crew was waiting for Verizon to show up to reinstall their lines.  I was also told that a pole across the street had been straightened out and a pole close to Worth Avenue had been replaced.

Above is a screenshot of the tree that fell, taken from a 2019 Google Maps shot. It's the one closest to the street. The lot entrance in the foreground is for 810 Union, adjacent to the ophthalmology office parking lot. I'm thinking the tree had grown quite a bit in the past 7 years.

That pole on the right was in need of straightening 7 years ago!