Giant Oak tree blocks traffic during AM commute in Menlo Park

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ByMatt Keller KGO logo
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Giant Oak tree blocks traffic during AM commute in Menlo Park
There were heavy downpours across the Bay Area overnight, and the rain isn't over just yet. The rain knocked down a giant oak tree on Oak Grove Avenue in Menlo Park, blocking the road for four hours during the morning commute.

MENLO PARK, Calif. (KGO) -- There were heavy downpours across the Bay Area overnight, and the rain isn't over just yet.

The rain knocked down a giant oak tree on Oak Grove Avenue in Menlo Park, blocking the road for four hours during the morning commute.

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The oak tree at the Vollombrosa Center fell across Oak Grove Avenue just before 6:15 Wednesday morning. It knocked down power lines and blocked traffic right before the morning commute really picked up.

PG&E Crews are working to get up a new pole and lines, although there are no reports of outages in the area.

"There's a high school down this way, so you know in the mornings, there are a lot of traffic here. We put out a lot of social media alerts to let people know the road was closed so people could take an alternate route," explained Sgt. Scott Mackdanz with e Menlo Park Police Department.

This shouldn't have come as a surprise for Oak Grove Avenue. This isn't the first time such a massive tree fell in the area.

"Trees that big, is not that uncommon to fall in this area because there are so many several hundred year old oak trees, but usually they don't make such a splash and they're not so public," said Deacon Dominick Peloso with the Church of the Nativity.

The road block didn't stop mass from taking place at 7:30 a.m. at the church, which is just a few steps away from where the tree fell.

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