DC officials hold meeting over fallen Garfield Park tree that killed woman

WASHINGTON (7News) — On Monday night, D.C. officials held a meeting to discuss their response after a tree fell and killed a woman at Garfield Park last week.

The Urban Forestry Division under the District Department of Transportation cares for the more than 170,000 public trees in the District.

A department official said every tree in Garfield Park has been inspected no fewer than three times since 2016.

The tree that killed 35-year-old Sarah Noah of Southeast D.C. was inspected a couple of times in recent years over public requests for pruning.

READ MORE | Witnesses describe loud noises prior to deadly tree fall in Southeast DC park

One request was in December 2018. Officials said it was inspected that day and pruned four months later.

Another request was made in May 2022. It was inspected that day and pruned two months later.

Inspections showed the tree was listed in good condition with no indication of internal decay.

In fact, in October 2023 the North American Tree Climbing Championships was held in Garfield Park, and that tree was heavily used. Before the competition, experts inspected and assessed the tree and found no issues.

DDOT said this past April an independent consultant reviewed the trees for an upcoming playground renovation and found no issues with this tree.

DDOT did not provide any explanation as to what caused this accident.

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“Even with that tree having fallen apart, there was no single defect or characteristic that made us go, ah, of course. This is, you may have heard me describe this earlier in the week as unforeseeable,” said DDOT Associate Director for Urban Forestry Division Earl Eutsler.

Attendees expressed concerns about the irrigation system at the park and asked whether the North American Tree Climbing Championships contributed to this accident, but Eutsler said those were not connected to this accident.

DDOT has reviewed all 261 trees in the park. 215 are in good or excellent condition. 6 are in poor condition and scheduled to be removed. All those trees are rather small.

The median diameter of the trees at Garfield Park is 14 inches. Very few trees are 45 inches or larger in diameter.