Woman lost home insurance over a tree CA city says she can’t remove

A California woman’s insurance company threatened to drop her over a large oak tree they said was too close to her Glendale home. After spending thousands of dollars in trimming brush clearance, Kerry McCalmont was still dropped, despite getting the all-clear from the fire department.

Living in a high fire hazard zone, Kerry was given a list of demands: remove all plants within 5 feet of her home. She complied, spending thousands on bush removal and tree trimming. But it wasn’t enough. The company came back, insisting she cut down a nearby tree.

The catch? It’s a protected live oak tree. Glendale, like Los Angeles, Pasadena and many cities in Southern California, has laws protecting oak trees as “natural aesthetic resources.” These laws leave homeowners in a bind: insurance companies demand tree removal for coverage, but city ordinances won’t allow it.

Kerry now faces the prospect of losing her insurance in December. Despite the fire department confirming that her property isn’t a hazard, she now faces an additional hurdle; insurance companies have now decided to stop writing policies for homes with any type of trees overhanging the property, including those not even in high fire zones.

KTLA’s Andy Riesmeyer reports.

KTLA 5 News – Keeping Southern Californians informed since 1947.