Big Fig Tree Falls at Courthouse

A 60- to 70-year-old fig tree riddled by root rot came crashing down at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse during Tuesday night’s rain storm. Neighbors heard the collapse around 8 p.m. The tree, which stood on the Santa Barbara Street side of the grounds near one of the historic structure’s main doors, glanced off the building before hitting the ground. Clean-up crews with chain saws started cutting through and hauling away the massive trunk and boughs Wednesday morning. A city parks employee at the scene said the tree — an Indian Laurel Fig — had been listing toward the courthouse for some time, its roots on the opposite side slowly but surely poking further out of the dirt every year. Its branches were often cut back to reduce its weight, he said, and an arborist had recently declared the tree safe.