On Sunday, rows of trees were found to be chopped on the streets of Los Angeles. Social media users shared pictures of trees with a chainsaw on South Grand Avenue and nearby areas, which were just before Earth Day.
Los Angeles Times said that the police department has no details about the incident. According to ABC7, security guards of two separate buildings in the area stated that surveillance footage showed an unknown person to an unknown person on a bicycle to an unknown person.
Images by users made clean cuts on the base or midway up tree trunk, barely hanging by thread of bark with some trees. A reddit user claimed that every tree between 1 Street and Wilshire Bulleward was affected. Photos show the falling trees falling at intersections including Olympic Bulleward and Hope Street, and Broadway and Caesar Chavez Avenue.
Many targeted trees allegedly appear to be Indian Laurel Figs (Ficus microorpa), which are known for their dried resistance and environmental benefits. Urban trees play an important role in controlling the climb of water of the storm, improving air quality, cooling warm areas and supporting public health. A study by the UCLA Lucin Center found that shaded areas can reduce physical heat stress by 30%.
The office of the city council member Yabel Zarado told CBS News, “Our office knows about the illegal tree cutting and close communication with LAPD in DTLA because they investigate. Thanks to the community for bringing it into our awareness, it really looks like co-governance in action.”
