Streets behind the Sonoma Mission Inn were closed Saturday night when a limb of a huge oak tree suddenly split and came dangerously close to downing a power line. The area was quickly cordoned off. There were no injuries.
The base of the tree is located on Greger Street, just south of Boyes Boulevard. Its vast canopy extends over part of that intersection, an apartment building and three homes on Greger, and across Greger to a portion of the Sonoma Mission Inn.
Residents reported a cracking noise about 9 p.m. A limb about three feet in diameter had split at the trunk, about six feet from the ground. The shifted branches looked to be resting on the power lines in several places.
Units from the California Highway Patrol, Sonoma Valley Fire & Rescue and the Sheriffs Department responded, closing Greger and Boyes to traffic within two blocks of the tree.
A crew worked until at least 2 a.m. to cut the branches off the wires, a Greger Street resident said. The job included cutting the limb to the area of the split, and disposing of most of the wood and foliage. The next morning, only a small pile of wood and a stretch of leafy dust remained.
