Highway 101 emergency tree removal

Caltrans crews have been monitoring trees along major highways since winter storms soaked the Central Coast. To keep the highways safe, crews are removing trees sooner rather than later.

According to Caltrans, several eucalyptus trees along Highway 101 in Prunedale have become very weak. And with more rain forecasted for the end of the week Caltrans is working to stay one step ahead of the storm.

“If trees are down we’ll get them right away but we’re still looking for adjacent trees in the area that are at risk of coming down,” said Susana Cruz with Caltrans.

Saturated soil can cause a mess of a situation. Salinas was no stranger to that back in February, where more than a thousand trees came toppling down.

“That was a busy weekend, that was probably a record book number of responses for our agencies but everyone came together,” said Salinas Fire Chief Edmond Rodriguez.

But no matter the conditions, crews are always prepared to keep the public safe.

“Anything pertaining to severe weather we’re more than capable of responding and more than capable of dealing with whatever comes our way,” added Rodriguez.