Trees were a California city’s salvation. Now they’re a grave threat.

Read the full story in the Washington Post.

Sacramento has long prided itself on its extensive urban canopy, which is one of the densest of any city in the Golden State. The city is estimated to have about 1 million trees, some of which were planted as early as the 1850s. More than 1,000 trees have come down in Sacramento since a major storm tore through Northern California on New Year’s Eve. Residents have reported more than 2,000 tree-related incidents in January, according to the city.

Weakened by years of drought, many of the city’s grander trees succumbed to the extreme weather, damaging homes, flattening cars and pulling down power lines as they fell. Two homeless people died after trees fell on their tents. Some trees were ripped out of the soil, roots and all.