Falling tree gives Arizona woman a fright
Jan Eagle got a scare when a tree fell on her campsite at Cataloochee Campground during her stay at Great Smoky Mountains National Park May 30. Eagle, who lives in Tucson, Ariz., was on the first day of her 12-day stay when the tree fell where she had been sitting moments before. She had moved away from the spot and was uninjured from the incident.
The Smokies national park has an active hazard tree-monitoring program and cuts down hundreds of hazardous trees annually at a cost of more than $500,000. However, no program is perfect.
“The park is a natural environment, though, and while we constantly work to reduce risks for visitors, we are unable to eliminate them all,” said Molly Schroer, concessions management specialist. “We are grateful that nobody was injured in this incident.”
The tree had not previously been reported to the park as a risk, Schroer said, but was removed the same day the park learned of the incident.
