Trees

Newport Beach city officials are asking the Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission to OK a proposal to remove another 18 eucalyptus trees near one that fell and killed a motorist in September. Since that accident, the city has assessed the risk posed by about 350 blue gum eucalyptus trees around town, and has already chopped down about 140 of them. The commission is set to vote Tuesday on removing 18 trees along the 2200 block of Holiday Road, between Irvine and Tustin avenues.

COSTA MESA - Even for the most seasoned trucker, hauling a 14,000-pound Christmas tree down the 5 Freeway is a pretty unusual experience. South Coast Plaza's 96-foot white fir - the same size and species as the one used last year - arrived at 7 a.m. in Town Center Park on Friday after an 11-hour drive down one of the state's busiest freeways. "It's the start of Christmas," said Richard Coffey, the truck driver who's been responsible for transporting the holiday cargo 650 miles from Mt. Shasta for the last three years.

City contractors began cutting down 33 blue gum eucalyptus in Corona del Mar on Monday, the second large group of such trees officials have decided to remove after a freak accident in September. Officials determined the latest set of trees was at risk of falling. West Coast Arborists started pulling out 22 trees on Fourth Avenue, north of West Coast Highway, and will move on to 11 trees south of the highway, later this week. Officials expect to be finished by Friday. On Sep. 15, one of the trees near the Costa Mesa border fell on a car and killed 29-year-old Haeyoon Miller.

CORONA DEL MAR — Crews will begin removing 33 blue gum eucalyptus trees, probably starting Monday, along Fourth Avenue, a city official said Thursday. "I know this is hard," said Mark Harmon, Newport Beach municipal operations director, to a crowd of 50 at the OASIS Senior Center. "This is a public safety issue. " Of the trees, 31 pose a high to extreme risk of falling and two pose moderate risk, he said. City arborists and an outside expert inspected Corona del Mar's blue gums following a Sept.

City officials are planning to hold a neighborhood meeting at 6 p.m. Oct. 13 at the OASIS Senior Center to discuss the status of Corona del Mar's blue gum eucalyptus trees. On Tuesday, a blue gum near Fourth and Goldenrod avenues fell over during a rainstorm, damaging two homes and four cars but causing no injuries. Last month, another blue gum along Irvine Avenue fell and killed 29-year-old Haeyoon Miller. Arborists have been inspecting all the blue gums in Newport Beach since that accident, and any tree identified as dangerous is being removed.

IRVINE - A green tent and a table lined with dozens of cupcakes was set up alongside the skinny sapling planted in memory of 14-year-old cheerleader Ashton Sweet, who died after a car crash on Memorial Day weekend. Friday would have been Sweet's 15th birthday, and friends and family gathered at Irvine Boulevard and Culver Drive to honor the memory of the Northwood High School freshman who prosecutors assert was killed by a suspected drunk driver. "We feel so connected to this spot.

Many of the 50 eucalyptus trees lining a Corona del Mar street may soon be removed if the City Council waives its standard tree removal procedure Tuesday. Prompted by the recent collapse of two large eucalyptus — including one that killed a motorist — the move would hasten the city's plans for roughly 300 trees throughout the city. City officials have been scrambling since Sept. 14, when a blue gum eucalyptus toppled at the Newport-Costa Mesa border and killed 29-year-old Haeyoon Miller as she waited in her car at a stoplight.

A eucalyptus tree fell Wednesday afternoon in Corona del Mar, striking two homes and damaging four cars. No injuries were reported. While the season's first significant rain fell throughout the day, it was unclear what caused the accident, said Newport Beach Police Department spokeswoman Kathy Lowe. Police and fire crews responded to Fourth Avenue, between Goldenrod and Heliotrope avenues, after receiving a call at 1:25 p.m., Lowe said. All four cars were unoccupied. At least one of them suffered serious damage, while the homes appeared to have fewer problems, Lowe said.

COSTA MESA — Family and friends of a Tustin woman killed about two weeks ago by a falling tree have created an online memorial. Visitors to the Dignity Memorial can view a photo gallery of Haeyoon Miller. The 29-year-old died Sept. 15 when a 10-ton, 50-foot eucalyptus inexplicably fell from a median and landed on her car as she waited at a red light. "The photos paint a picture of a wonderful person who truly lived a full life," George Osorio, Miller's longtime boyfriend, wrote in an email.

COSTA MESA - Like many musical prodigies, she reached a point where it was no longer just about the music. For Haeyoon Miller, the Julliard-trained violinist who died when a tree crushed her car last week, it was when "everyone else was just another competitor, not just a true friend," her older sister Erika Ahn said at a Costa Mesa memorial service Thursday evening. Plenty of friends came to mourn the loss of Miller, 29, whose death made people imagine how they could have easily been under that eucalyptus tree.