Say goodbye to Esther Short Park sweetgums

Crews from Vancouver Public Works today removed three sweetgum trees that were damaged in Esther Short Park in a late September windstorm.

The storm, which caused more than 2.5 inches of rain on Sept. 28 and 29, knocked huge branches off sweetgum trees across the county, including the three in the park.

Sweetgum trees become brittle as they age and break more easily in storms.

Public Works officials said the trees weren’t recovering properly and needed to be replaced.

The trees were planted before the 1960s and were also nearing the end of their 60-year lifespan.

The department is still deciding which trees it will use to replace the sweetgums. The front-runners are slower-growing trees like oaks, red maples and sugar maples.

Replacements will likely be planted in the spring, officials said.