City of Dixon work crews were out in force after the storm quickly clearing streets and drains of masses of branches and debris

DIXON, CA (MPG) - One local family had a close call the night of the first rain storm when a giant tree toppled into the middle of their 2-story home on West Mayes Street at 1:30 in the morning.

Kirstyn Hairston, owner of the house received the call from her shocked tenant/neighbor who said a tree had fallen through their house.

"I happened to be awake because my home was making sounds I've never heard before," she said about the night of the storm. "The tree went all the way through to the first floor." When she met them outside she started crying and said thank God they were okay. The couple have a one-year-old child that they moved to their bedroom earlier in the evening.

The tree also tore down power lines and the Dixon Fire Department responded with PG & E joining them as well.

Hairston purchased the home about five years ago as it was next door and had been vacant for some time. Major renovations were done and now the charming light blue home trimmed with a white picket fence is an asset to the downtown neighborhood.

Interestingly, when Harrison purchased it, she asked the city to remove the tree for several reasons. It was buckling the sidewalk, putting a ton of needles into the gutters, and due to the shade, nothing could grow under it.

"It was a huge nuisance but they said no. I even offered to pay for its removal but they said it didn't belong to me because it was on the strip on the other side of the sidewalk," she said.

It wasn't the only tree she asked to have removed on the land strip of a sidewalk. When Highway 113 was redone and the streets were torn up for weeks, she asked the City if they would remove a tree also on the slim stretch of land between the curb and the sidewalk in the front of their home because it was diseased.

"There were other trees all along the street being pruned back or taken out, but we were told the front strip doesn't belong to them, that it belongs to the State. We also offered to pay for its removal," Hairston said. It's still there.

In the Dixon Municipal City Code under 13.05.060 Maintenance obligations, this is what it says: A. Street trees and landscaping within the public street right-of-way located between the curbs, or edges of the public street where no curb exists (i.e., medians), shall be owned and maintained by the City. B. Street trees and landscaping within the central business district shall be owned and maintained by the City.

“Central business district” shall mean all streets and portions of streets within the area defined as A Street from Jackson Street to Second Street; B Street from North Jackson Street to North Second Street; Jackson Street from A Street to West B Street; and First Street from one hundred eighty (180) feet north of Mayes Street to East C Street.

City of Dixon work crews were out in force after the storm quickly clearing streets and drains of masses of branches and debris. Even Dixon police officers aided the effort, clearing intersections for safety.