Tree falls in Discovery-nearly hits hikers

A large big leaf maple crashed to the ground narrowly missing two hikers near the Environmental Learning Center in Discovery Park at 1:50pm Wednesday.?No one was injured.

Seattle Parks employees heard the crashing sound of the tree as it hit and were on the scene in minutes in their pickup truck.? There were three witnesses to the tree falling and two of them missed being hit by mere feet.? “We could hear a moaning sound as we came down the stairs” said one of them, moments after the event.? One of the hikers fell backward to the pavement as he scrambled away from the falling tree.

The mature tree fell about 500 feet due West of the Environmental Learning Center at the base of the long concrete stairs that lead?up the hill.? This is one of the busiest intersections in Discovery Park for hikers as it is a large paved intersection where the Loop Trail crosses.? The tree was located at the base of the Loop Trail approximately 50 feet to the left of the bottom of the stairs where the trail traverses up the hill.? The tree fell parallel to the stairs, directly across a paved road.? It did not fall across the Loop Trail itself.

“We could hear the noise of the tree and headed up here right away,” said a female Seattle Parks employee as she was setting up warning cones with her co-worker.? “We get maybe 2 of these incidents a year that cross a major trail.” she added.? A tree crew was on its way as of 2:30pm to clear the large tree out of the way.