In response to Tracy Henderschott’s letter it would seem she has not experienced the pleasure of a large, diseased tree falling through her house.

While trees are beautiful, the trees of Kirkland need to be managed like any other forest in the region.

In the early 1900’s Kirkland was an old growth forest that was clear cut and used to build 1,000’s of Seattle area homes. The second growth has now reached maturity and many of the trees are diseased and unstable. If Kirkland were still a forest there would be no issue, but Kirkland is not a forest, it is a large city that is getting larger all the time. Living in the shadow of a 100-plus foot evergreen that has root disease should be a large concern for anyone. These trees fall and cause great damage to houses and potential death to those that live within them.

When I moved to Kirkland 22 years ago I began a program of managing the “forest” that was on my 1/4 acre lot. The diseased trees were removed and the healthy trees trimmed. Despite this effort I made and the information I provided, my neighbors decided to neglect their trees. Since then I have had no fewer than six of my neighbors’ trees fall on my house. It is only by luck that my family (including my animals) were not hurt. On top of this, every year we deal with extended power outages do to old trees blowing onto the power lines. Would it be so hard to actually cut the trees far enough back so this would not happen?

The idea that trees (which are a renewable resource) are more important than people is an idea that is off base. The City of Kirkland is infested with rats and raccoon, coyotes and squirrels. All are easily finding a home in the abundant trees that remain standing. At present, the City allows one tree per year to be removed from an owners property even if the tree is designated as a hazard due to disease and yet the City refuses to take responsibility for the damage if that tree falls and causes damage.

My insurance rates are high enough. My family and neighbors sleep in the basement every time there is a storm. I say it is past the time to deal with the growing problem of diseased trees and the City should take a more aggressive approach.

Like they have for 1,000’s of years the wild animals will adapt and be just fine.

John Murphy, Kirkland

Editor’s note: Currently, the City allows two trees on a given property to be removed per year, which does not include trees designated as hazardous or nuisance per Kirkland Zoning Code Chapter 95.