Last Friday, a large tree fell on a power pole in North Vancouver, knocking out power to 2,100 homes for 12 hours.
But Ivanka Vukorep, who lives on 29th Street near where the tree came down, said she warned the district weeks earlier that it was a potential hazard.
“I noticed that it was quite tilted,” she said. So she went to municipal hall, where Vukorep said she spoke to two staff members.
She showed them pictures of the tree, before and after it tilted, and pointed out its location on a computer, Vukorep said.
“They said to me, ‘This is on private property, and we cannot do anything about it.’ I said, ‘Well, the tree doesn’t look good, and it’s potentially dangerous.’ But that was the end of it.”
When the tree came down on Friday, Vukorep said she couldn’t believe it. “They should have taken me more seriously.”
According to District of North Vancouver policy, when the municipality receives a report of a hazard tree on private property and if the tree is described as posing a hazard to public land, the district would investigate it, explained spokesperson Courtenay Rannard.
“Staff then take appropriate action,” she said, adding that residents should report hazard trees in the district either through the report a problem system on their website, or by calling 604-990-2311. After hours, residents can call 604-990-3666.
The district said that it's having trouble finding a record of the resident's visit and exchange with staff.
This article will be updated with any new information about this issue.
