Someone attacked trees at this Pierce County park. New ones could cost city $380,000
Someone vandalized 13 trees in the city of Sumner.
City staff noticed on May 10 that trees had been damaged in Loyalty Park at 516 Boyd Ave. The types of trees include oak, cedar, cypress, sequoia, beech and maple. A person or group of people might have used a hatchet or knife to slash and carve out pieces from the trees’ bodies, officials said.
“We’re not sure if it’s a hatchet or a knife. We’re not entirely sure what the object is. It’s from the size of the damage that we’re guessing at,” city spokesperson Carmen Palmer said.
The city’s arborist thinks the trees can recover from the vandalism but is worried that the trees may be unable to take any more injuries, Palmer said. The trees were the only features of the park that were vandalized.
“If a tree is damaged or is weakened we have to think about its strength during wind storms and its ability to be strong,” Palmer said. “It is really important to not see further damage like this to our trees because they could threaten our ability to keep the tree.”
Palmer said it may cost the city between $350,000 to $380,000 to replace all 13 fully-grown trees. Not to mention trees are slow-growing, which means it would take some time for residents and visitors to enjoy the shade new trees would bring.
Those who want to report vandalism can reach the city at 253-287-4455 or sumnerwa.gov/police/online-report/. They can also call 911 if they see vandalism happening in real-time.
This story was originally published May 12, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
