Ladera and Portola Valley residents are asking Stanford University to better manage its eucalyptus trees along Alpine Road near Highway 280 after a San Jose man was killed last week when one of the trees fell on his work van.

Another tree fell on the same stretch of roadway on Monday, March 27, according to photos sent from Ladera residents, shutting down Alpine Road while it was removed. Resident Carol Espinosa said she wants to reduce the chance of another death or property damage caused by unstable trees along Los Trancos Creek.

The Almanac has reached out to the CHP for more details on the incident on Monday.

"Another high risk period is tonight when a storm hits," Espinosa, who's lived in Ladera for about 50 years, said Monday afternoon. "It's not something that is going to stop soon."

She also noted that Alpine Road, which provides access to Highway 280, is a major emergency exit point from Portola Valley and it can take an extra 20 minutes or so to leave town if you can't use Alpine Road.

Ladera resident Briana Fortnam said in an email that the trees coming down is frightening because the Alpine corridor is a main thoroughfare for many residents in Portola Valley, Ladera and beyond.

"Stanford should assess the health of each tree on their property along the Alpine corridor," she said in a March 27 email. "As you can see from the photos, the tree that fell this morning was adjacent to the tree that killed Jesus Cruz last week. Stanford was asked to assess the health of these trees when the first tree fell and killed a man last Tuesday. We have not yet heard of any action taken to review the danger posed by these trees."

Jesus Ivan Cruz Diaz, 29, died Tuesday, March 21, had just completed a job for Able Plumbing, Sewer and Drain when a tree fell on his work van as he drove eastbound along Alpine Road near the Highway 280 south onramp. Emergency responders said that several more trees fell while they were attempting to extricate Diaz from the van, nearly hitting them and their vehicles.

"We are very saddened by the tragic loss of life that happened as a result of last week's storm," said Luisa Rapport, director of Emergency Communications and Media Relations for Stanford. "The university has performed an initial review of the trees on Stanford land adjacent to the three trees that have already fallen. The trees are very challenging to reach for tree crews due to the saturated soil, distance from the street, and size of the trees. Stanford is reaching out to well-equipped service providers to better understand the logistics of removing hazardous tree conditions."

Stanford is in contact with county officials to share updates and coordinate work in the area, she said. San Mateo County is working with the California Highway Patrol to place cones and detour signs restricting access to the lane closest to the creek on Alpine Road, she said.

Stanford's land maps confirm that the university owns the land in question. Stanford's 8,180 acres of contiguous land in the area are in six different governmental jurisdictions.

Espinosa contacted Santa Clara County District 5 Supervisor Joe Simitian on Monday, March 27, who reached out to Stanford and the Santa Clara County Planning Department. Simitian said he plans to raise the issue at the county's board meeting next week, as well as contact San Mateo County since there are a "range of views" about which county the site is located in.

"Anyone who has been through a tree removal in either county, it can be an extended and time-consuming process," Simitian said. In an emergency circumstance like this, the process needs to move faster, he said.