When trees attack

Bob LaBouy never used to worry about trees. In fact, he kind of liked them. Then came the weeks of rain followed by the Dec. 14 windstorm. That night, while watching television with his wife, the couple heard trees crash down outside their house in Redmond Ridge.

Standing outside in the dark with a flashlight, they were talking about how lucky they were that none had fallen on the house when several trees smashed down on the roof. A firefighter warned them that it was unsafe so they left for the night. The next morning they came back and found that 13 trees had fallen atop their home.

More than three months later, LaBouy is still, literally, digging out from the mess.

"The process of getting things taken care of is torture, to say the least," he says.

While the insurance kicked in almost immediately — wiring $17,000 into his bank account for help with costs associated just with removal of the trees — he still has tarps draping the roof as the repairing of the house drags on.

"The house is not back to normal," LaBouy says. "It will take five to six weeks. That's what the contractors always say — even five to six weeks ago."

$170 million in damage

In Washington state, the cost of damage from the windstorm is estimated at $170 million and more than 42,500 homeowner insurance claims have had to be processed, says Karl Newman, president of the nonprofit Northwest Insurance Council, an industry group.

"Most homeowners were pleased with the way the insurance companies handled claims," Newman says.

But many who had a neighbor's tree fall on their home wondered why their own insurance had to pay for the damage. And they worried their rates would go up if they filed a claim or that the storm was an "Act of God" and would not be covered.

Windstorm damage, including a tree falling from your yard or a neighbor's, typically is covered under a standard homeowner's policy. Yet other disasters such as flooding, tsunamis, earthquakes or landslides aren't covered in a regular policy.

Newman says filing one claim usually will not make a difference in rates and the only way to get the neighbor's insurance to pay for damage to your own property is to show that the neighbor had a degree of negligence. This would fall under liability instead of property insurance. Though insurance companies have "stepped up and made it happen," according to Newman, people are still worried. Trees that made a neighborhood desirable now look ominous to some.

Now when LaBouy looks out at all the trees that have fallen or been removed, he feels he lives somewhere else. "It looks like Southern California."

When trees block views

We love the beauty of the mountains and the sight of trees in the cities. Trees improve air and water quality, while providing natural air-conditioning on hot summer days. But what happens if those trees conspire to block a homeowner's once-stunning view?

"If your view is lost, even to trees, it can make a difference," says Michael Bill of Windermere Real Estate, who has worked as a Seattle real-estate agent for 13 years.

He estimated that the value of a view is about 10 to 15 percent, meaning that a $500,000 home with a good view could lose more than $50,000 in value when it loses that view.

So it is no surprise that homeowners get frustrated when dealing with what can be one of their most prized assets.

When Andrew Cerrato looked outside the window of his condo toward Lake Union, all he could see were tree branches.

Cerrato became so aggravated by the offending branches that he started plotting ways he might remove them. He even went so far as to purchase a hand saw. He imagined sneaking out in the middle of the night to cut them down.

Then he had a change of heart, Cerrato said, after hearing others in his condo association also complain about the trees that were gradually blocking their views. There was a feeling of hysteria, he said. And he didn't like it.

"People were talking about how these were not normal trees," he said. "Someone said they were genetically engineered monster trees that would grow 80 feet tall."

Cerrato says it would be nice if when you buy a home, the disclosure statement would have information on the growth rates of the trees that you can see from your windows. But trees don't bother him now, he added.

"Cutting trees is wrong, even though you want to do it," he said. "Worrying about your property value brings out the worst part of a person's personality."

Seattle not only encourages homeowners to plant trees, but also will go after those illegally cutting them down.

In the most notable case, Federal Court Judge Jerome Farris paid the city of Seattle $618,000 after his gardener cut down 120 trees in Colman Park in 2002, improving the view of Lake Washington from the judge's home.

That case was settled last year, about the same time Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels talked about having homeowners help the city add about 650,000 more trees over the next 30 years.

The converted Cerrato says that isn't such a bad plan.

"Everyone should plant trees. It makes you a better person."

Good trees labeled bad

Since the storm, many neighborhoods have been buzzing with the sound of chain saws.

Tree-service companies have been working overtime to clear the ground and also calm the fears of nervous homeowners living next to large trees.

Yet homeowners who have trees trimmed or topped may be putting themselves in even more danger than if they had just left the tree alone, experts say. Many are coerced into it by unscrupulous tree cutters going door-to-door, they say.

"The tree guys come to their door and say, 'Hey, you better cut that tree or it's gonna fall,' " says Greg Allen of Ballard Tree Service. "Most legitimate companies don't go door-knocking to try to get business."

His decades of experience have taught him that topping trees can create root rot that may not be seen for five to 10 years. "It's just like cancer in a human being," he says.

Resolving tree issues

Trees that have been topped are more likely to fall in a storm and their new branches are much weaker.

"Tree topping is vandalism for profit," says city of Seattle's arborist, Nolan Rundquist.

Many of the tree-service companies who offer to lop a few "unstable" branches or cut down only the top of the tree have few qualifications beyond a chain saw and a pickup.

If there is some concern about a tree in your yard for any reason, the best plan is to have a certified arborist come out and take a look. An arborist certified by International Society of Arboriculture must pass an exam and have three years' experience in the industry.

"Trees are good," Rundquist says. "Just because it's big doesn't mean it's dangerous."

Tree issues between neighbors often serve as a lightning rod, says Barri Kaplan Bonapart, a national tree-law expert in California.

Instead of going after a neighbor's tree, she recommends taking some time to get all the facts.

"Call a certified tree-care professional first before you call your lawyer," Bonapart says.

Most of the confusion and fear can be solved by doing one simple thing: try talking to your neighbor first and "don't engage in battle as a first resort."