Tree Crashes Down on House; Residents Unhurt

An 80-foot-tall pine tree crashed down onto a large house on Lemona Avenue in Sherman Oaks early Thursday morning. No one was injured.

"It felt like an earthquake," Art Galli, the owner of the house, told his son Don. The tree fell at about 12:30 a.m. Galli was at home with his wife and niece.

"They were not injured at all," said Don Galli. "We are contractors and ... my father built a very sturdy house. That's why the falling tree didn't come crashing into the house," he said.

Thursday afternoon, Don Galli was at the house, supervising a crew's cleanup of debris left when the tree crashed down.

"We're lucky nobody was injured; the family managed to get out without any problems," said Los Angeles Fire Capt. Steve Ruda.

"All three family members were evacuated, and just to be safe we also evacuated the family that lives behind the house," Ruda said.

"That is the thickest, heaviest pine tree I think I have ever seen," Ruda said, pointing to the huge limbs and branches that were wedged into the roof of the home at 4825 Lemona Ave.

City building inspectors will decide when the family can move back into the structure, which was tagged as "unsafe." Water and power to the house have been shut off.

Television news crews interviewed people on the street Thursday.

"The tree is about 100 years old," said Jackie Campbell who lives on the street.

"Maybe we should call this Tree-mageddon," said Ruda. "It's one big tree."