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Mayor urges action on Highway 9 eucalyptus trees, warns of evacuation hazards
Summary
Mayor Allen told the council that about 75 eucalyptus trees in the Highway 9 median could make the highway impassable in a wildfire and said residents in cul‑de‑sacs could be trapped; staff said policies to require maintenance or removal in rights-of-way exist and agreed to make language more emphatic.
Mayor Allen raised a public‑safety concern about trees on State Highway 9, saying the median contains roughly 75 eucalyptus trees and that if Highway 9 were impassable "there would be literally hundreds of people trapped in their homes who couldn't evacuate at all." He pressed staff to work with Cal Fire and Caltrans to address the hazard.
Staff responded that the draft includes a policy to require maintenance or removal of hazardous trees and a policy to coordinate with the state and neighboring jurisdictions to reduce fire risks on Highway 9; staff agreed they could add more emphatic, specific wording referencing Highway 9 if the council wishes to direct that change.
