Yarra Ranges Council urges people to phone hotline with tree concerns

A spate of deaths caused by falling trees has triggered a new hotline the public can report specific safety concerns to. But with five million trees in the Yarra Ranges alone, the council warns it’s no easy feat.

Angie Suryadi, 41, husband Arnold Adiatiasvara, 41 and their children Oliver, 4 and Johnathon, 5.

Three recent tree-related deaths in the Yarra Ranges has prompted the council to urge anyone with fears about the safety of a tree to call its hotline.

An Endeavour Hills mum was tragically killed last Friday while driving her family to a snow trip at 9.30am.

A large tree fell across Angie Suryadi’s moving car on the Black Spur section of the Maroondah Highway in the Yarra Ranges National Park on their way to Lake Mountain.

She had planned the trip to celebrate the birthday of her husband Arnold Aditiasvara, who was also injured in the crash.

Their son, Oliver, 4, remains in a critical condition at the Royal Children’s Hospital, while their other son, Johnathon, 5, was not seriously injured.

Angie Suryadi, 41, husband Arnold Adiatiasvara, 41 and their children Oliver, aged 4, and Johnathon, aged 5.

The tragedy followed the deaths of a 46-year-old man and 10-year-old boy, believed to be a Cockatoo father and his son, who were killed when a falling tree crushed their car in the Dandenong Ranges National Park in Sherbrooke last month.

The council estimates there are about five million trees across 2500sq km.

Trees in state forests and national parks are managed by the State Government’s Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and Parks Victoria.

Yarra Ranges Council urged people to contact them via a hotline with specific concerns of tree safety while also warning a “large number” of trees are on State Government land.

The council’s director of environment and engineering Mark Varmalis said effective management of the trees depended on members of the community reporting any concerns.

“We respond to a large number of tree requests from residents, who may have concerns about the health of a tree or potential risk of falling,” he said.

“These requests are all inspected by qualified arborists and any subsequent recommended works — including pruning or complete removal — are prioritised based on the urgency of the situation.”

The council determines the urgency on whether the tree poses an immediate risk to life or property, the size of the tree and the frequency of people and vehicles in the area.

Mr Varmalis said the council also scheduled checks on trees arborists considered to be in declining health.

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“When our arborists head out to inspect a tree, they look at the whole tree, including its general health, the condition of the root plate and any structural faults in the trunk and branches,” he said.

“This information, including photographs, is recorded and stored on our system. When we are aware of trees in declining health or that may pose a risk in the future, we may revisit the tree regularly to monitor conditions and assess whether further works are needed.”

Anyone concerned about a tree on public land in the Yarra Ranges should phone [phone], especially if they notice significant changes to the state of the tree in a short period of time.

A third tragedy saw a leading researcher and mother of two killed by a tree in Princes Park, Carlton, this week.

Associate Professor Allison Milner, 36, was walking through the park when the massive elm crashed down on top of her on the footpath about 8.30am on Monday.

Maurice Blackburn principal lawyer Alison Barrett called for an urgent safety audit of all trees on public land to avoid future tragedies.

“Questions need to be asked about whether any of the trees in question, or parts of the trees, should be removed completely,” Ms Barrett said.

In a statement, Forest Fire Management Victoria said the state’s 7.12 million hectares of state forest and national parks were home to hundreds of millions of trees.

The statement said staff undertake risk assessment processes to identify possible hazards while conducting various land management activities in Victoria’s state forest and national parks — including planned burns, track clearing and campground maintenance.

The community can report potentially hazardous or fallen trees within state forest to the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning customer contact centre on 136 186, and within national park to the Parks Victoria Information Centre on 13 19 63.