Aristocratic pear fails under load

High winds (20 – 30 mph, gusting to 50+ mph) caused the aristocratic pear tree in our backyard to topple at about 7:30 P.M. tonight. Dina and I heard the walls of the house shudder in response to the deep crack of the trunk yielding. A Swiss Army knife is shown for scale in the photos below:

For the record, here’s the NWS advisory:

SONOMA AND MARIN COUNTIES-NAPA COUNTY-SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY-
SAN MATEO COUNTY-SANTA CRUZ COUNTY-ALAMEDA AND CONTRA COSTA COUNTIES-
SANTA CLARA COUNTY-COASTAL MONTEREY COUNTY-
SALINAS VALLEY/INTERIOR MONTEREY COUNTY/SAN BENITO COUNTY-
300 PM PST THU NOV 7 2002

...WIND ADVISORY THROUGH THIS EVENING...

SOUTH WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH WITH FREQUENT GUSTS OF 40 TO 50 MPH ARE
EXPECTED THROUGH THIS EVENING ACROSS THE SAN FRANCISCO AND MONTEREY
BAY AREAS. THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL OCCUR NEAR THE OCEAN AND IN THE
HILLS.

A POWERFUL PACIFIC STORM WAS APPROACHING THE CALIFORNIA COAST LATE
THURSDAY AFTERNOON. STRONG AND GUSTY SOUTH WINDS WILL PRECEDE THE
THE SURFACE FRONT. WINDS WILL SWITCH TO THE SOUTHWEST AND
DIMINISH AFTER FRONTAL PASSAGE AROUND MIDNIGHT. WINDS WILL INCREASE
ONCE AGAIN ON FRIDAY AHEAD OF ANOTHER FRONT...ALTHOUGH THEY ARE NOT
EXPECTED TO BE QUITE AS STRONG AS THIS EVENING.

PERSONS IN THE ADVISORY AREA ARE URGED TO TAKE ACTION TO SECURE LOOSE
OR LIGHTWEIGHT OUTDOOR OBJECTS. HIGH WINDS CAN TOPPLE TREES...BLOW
DEBRIS ONTO ROADWAYS...AND DOWN POWER LINES.