Oak at Libbey Bowl Probably Will Be Cut

A giant valley oak, angled precariously over the wooden seats of Libbey Bowl, will probably face the chain saws this week because it is almost entirely rotten, city officials said.

Four arborists and a plant pathologist examined the 110-foot tree this week and agreed it must come down soon, said City Manager Andy Belknap.

With the Ojai Music Festival and arrival of thousands of concert-goers one week away, city officials want to remove the tree now as a safety precaution, Belknap said. The oak’s trunk is so thick that two people cannot clasp hands around it.

If the tree fell, it could take out eight other trees and possibly the stage as well, a city report said. The oak, known to some as the “grandmother tree,” and the entire amphitheater are roped off in case the tree falls.

Oak tree activists have been speaking with city officials this week to make sure there is no rush to judgment, said John Christianson of the Ojai Oak Alliance. He and others contend that in March the city had not thoroughly researched the health of three oak trees near the front of the park before deciding to cut them down.

Arborists had said one of those trees could possibly be saved, but the City Council voted to cut all three down for safety reasons. Christianson, 51, spent 15 hours harnessed to one of the trees in an effort to spare it.

Two days of public protests followed, culminating in the arrests of four people, including Christianson. The council eventually decided to cut down two of the trees and spare the third, in hopes it would revive.