Tree Smashes Cars, Brings Down Power Lines

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Rocky Mountain Power is reminding residents to treat every down power line as lave. That’s the case in one neighborhood where heavy snow brought a tree down on top of multiple cars — and took power lines down with it as well.

“At 5:19 (a.m.), I heard a loud crash outside, and I came out and discovered that this tree had fallen down in the parking lot,” said resident Ryan Jonas.

He wasn’t the only one to have his car crushed on along Grace Street just west of Liberty Park, either. At least six cars were impacted. While all the vehicles were trapped by the massive tree, some were worse off than others.

“It’s done!” resident Jay Perry chuckled, gesturing to his smashed car. He kept a good spirit about the whole unfortunate incident.

Fire crews responded at approximately 6 a.m. However, there was a high volume of calls Friday morning, so authorities had to prioritize and tackle the areas that were most dangerous first.

“They gave us some great advice,” Perry said. “They said to call your insurance company right away, so that’s what we did.”

Salt Lake City is working with Rocky Mountain Power, and both said that all downed lines should be treated as live. Residents need to stay away.

“One of the things that frustrates us the most is we want people to take care of their tree,” Perry said. “There are a lot of beautiful trees in this neighborhood, but they need attention.”

Perry and Jonas, both neighbors on the street, said they hope this leads to some action by homeowners with large, mature trees.

Thankfully nobody was hurt. Among the mess, at least one car managed to go untouched by mother nature’s likely last March snow storm.

“I just walked out to the tree down and I guess my car is the only one that got missed,” said Stevie Smith.

Salt Lake City’s urban forestry team is out assessing damage and focusing on the most dangerous situations. Anyone who sees fallen limbs in the road or sidewalks is asked to call 801-972-7818.