Two trees fell in the Santa Rita parking lot blocking traffic and causing many student to arrive to school late.
On Tuesday, Jan. 10, fallen trees in the Amador parking lot caused heavy traffic as students attempted to begin their first day of the new semester. This caused many tardies and confusion among students and staff alike.
“I was ten minutes late to class. I was stuck at the light before Safeway for about 15 minutes,” said Siena Lucero (’25).
“I have very nice friends who texted me at 7:00 in the morning to tell me that trees had fallen, so I left the house early and I came down Santa Rita and turned in so I wouldn’t have all the traffic,” said Karen Lord-Eyewe, Spanish teacher.
As the tardy bell grew closer, the attendance office decided to step in with an announcement excusing latecomers affected by the trees. Many students took comfort in this, as they began to worry about when they would arrive at school.
“On my way to school, I was freaking out a bit because I was running late, so I texted one of my friends and she let me know that there was an announcement that was made over the loudspeaker. She said that there was a grace period because of the traffic and flooding, and then the tree that came down too. I was really relieved about that,” said Lucero.
After assessing the severity of the fallen trees against the traffic, the office decided to take action.
“I think the moment the office realized that the trees were blocking our dropoff pattern, and causing a delay, they decided to take action once they realized that the students were going to be late,” said Alphonso Powell, Coordinator of Operations.
Because of the recurring drought, the lack of water and intense heat have greatly affected campus trees. The recent storms managed to loosen the integrity of the trees on campus, making them a hazard through the last few weeks.
“The trees are not in as good shape as they should be, and some of the roots aren’t settled the way they need to be, based on the fact that we’ve been in a drought for three years. When you get severe rain like the recent weather, now we have loose soil, and trees get toppled over,” said Powell.
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