More than 1,500 trees in Winnipeg listed as 'high risk' for posing danger to people, property

Every time a big wind storm blows through Winnipeg, large limbs and even entire trees topple over.

While it isn’t always possible to predict where it will happen, the city does know which trees are most likely to fall.

The city’s tree database contains 1,500 trees listed as ‘high risk,' meaning they could pose a danger to people or property.

"Even if we have a tree in good condition, it may require a high-priority pruning because there is one large dead limb in it,” said city forester Martha Barwinsky.

Jeremy Toews knows firsthand what can happen in that situation.

In June 2014, he was hit by a falling maple tree.

"On our way into the car, I was just about to put my daughter in and heard a crack,” said Toews. “This 60-foot maple that was right over here came crashing down on us and the car."

His wife scooped their uninjured baby girl off the pavement and called 911.

After being treated in hospital, Toews missed the next two weeks of work.

The tree that hit him on Harvard Avenue West in Transcona broke off right at the base and he says it was completely rotten.

The city hopes to take care of all the trees on the list by the end of 2016.

One six-block stretch of Ashland Avenue in Riverview has 26 problem trees that need attention and people living there say they frequently see large limbs come crashing down.

"After any high winds, and we've had a lot this summer, there are larger branches that would do damage to cars,” said Ashland resident Jody Sie.

The city has GPS coordinates of the 1,500 high-risk trees, but most of them are not marked in any way; which means people parking under them, or living near them, have no idea.

"Just before we put out the work orders for the crews, that's when the trees are being marked,” said Barwinsky. “It's more efficient use of our time."

Toews doesn’t know if the tree that hit him was on the city’s list, but he thinks people living near the high-risk trees should be notified.

"What's the breaking point? If the tree had killed me or my daughter, would something be done then?,” he asked. “Probably. Should it have to come to that? Probably not."

Locations of hisk-risk, priority trees in Winnipeg