Granada Hills home hit by large eucalyptus tree, power lines downed

A huge eucalpytus tree fell Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016, on a home on the 17600 block of Kingsbury Street in Granada Hills. (Photos by Gene Blevins/Los Angeles Daily News)

The fallen tree downed a power line leading to the Granada Hills home. (Photos by Gene Blevins/Los Angeles Daily News)

As strong Santa Ana winds buffeted the San Fernando Valley Tuesday, a 70-foot-tall eucalyptus tree fell on the roof and eaves of a single-story home in Granada Hills, causing no injuries but downing power lines to the residence, authorities said.

The incident, which was reported at 10:47 a.m. on the 17600 block of Kingsbury Street, caused minimal damages to the house, said L.A. City Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey.

“It was not damaged heavily,” Humphrey said, adding that the tree downed power lines from the house to a nearby pole. The lines did not appear to be snapped, he said.

The fire department spent about 20 minutes at the scene before determining there were no injuries, and firefighters left the scene when Los Angeles Department of Water and Power officials arrived, Humphrey said.

Kim Hughes of the LADWP said at 1:10 p.m. that the utility and the Los Angeles County Public Works Department were working together to remove the tree.

“A 70-foot-tall tree is going to take a bit of time to get out of the way,” Hughes said. “We have to cut it up in pieces and do it in such a way to cause the least amount of new damage possible.”

After the tree is removed, Hughes said, the department could then repair the downed wires.

Hughes did not have immediate numbers on how many power customers were affected by the incident.

Despite strong winds in the area Monday night and Tuesday morning, Humphrey said no determination could be made about the cause of the tree falling.

“We can’t say,” Humphrey said. “These things often go to litigation ... We are reminded by the city attorney that we have no expertise.”