City workers began taking down a huge eucalyptus tree at King Pool in North Berkeley on Wednesday morning after it was found to be decaying at its core.
According to local resident and Berkeleyside freelance reporter Mary Flaherty, the crew was working to remove large branches from the tree and grind them up. A worker told Flaherty the work began at 8 a.m. Wednesday and would likely last for two days.
Berkeleyside reported in February on the planned removal. The tree was found to have wood fungus and decay, said city staff, and its location next to the pool and a playground thus created a dangerous situation.
The tree was estimated to reach 140 feet, with four massive trunks.
Thursday, Robert Collier shared this photograph of the work up to that point. City spokesman Matthai Chakko said the tree will be cut down to a depth of 16 inches below ground.
Scroll to the bottom of this post for the latest photographs.
Flaherty shared the following videos and photographs of the work taking place Wednesday.
See more photographs of the tree, like the one below, by Nancy Rubin from earlier this year.
And here’s the view, where the tree formerly stood, later on Thursday.
Read more stories relating to Berkeley nature published on Berkeleyside. This item originally was posted at 3:42 p.m., but was republished later in the day due to a technical glitch. It was updated Thursday to include three photographs of the second day’s work.
Related:
Hills group sues FEMA over plan to cut down trees (03.23.15)
One of Berkeley’s largest trees to be cut down (02.03.15)
Two Eucalyptus trees come down in Claremont canyon (02.22.11)
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