Tree falls on apartment buildings in Vancouver's West End

A tree fell on two apartment buildings in Vancouver's West End on Thursday, smashing windows on several floors of both buildings.

The tree was one of several — all roughly 12 metres tall — lining the 1800 block of Nelson Street, just northwest of the intersection with Denman Street.

Roots of the tree were also ripped out of the ground, tearing up a large chunk of sidewalk.

The Vancouver Park Board, which manage's the city's urban trees, sent a crew in to remove the most dangerous branches. The crew is expected to return on Friday to remove the rest of the tree.

Meanwhile spokesman Howard Normann says it's not clear why the tree came down, and an inspector will be taking a closer look today as well.

"The roots look healthy, the tree looks good. It's very strange," he said. There was no strong wind in the area at the time.

Normann said the city inspects its trees annually and there was no reason to assume other trees on the street may also be at risk.