Woman and baby injured after being struck by falling palm tree skirt, sparking more concerns over tree trimming policy

As Meghan Brtnik strolled down Palm Canyon Drive in the heart of downtown Palm Springs on Saturday, March 2, with her mother and 2-month-old son Benoit, the last thing on her mind was the picturesque palm trees lining the street. She was cradling the child in front of the Welwood Murray Memorial Library when she heard a loud crack, almost like thunder.

“All of a sudden, it felt like a roof had crashed down on me,” she said. “I opened my eyes, but it was completely dark.” Then, Brtnik realized the dried fronds – or skirt – of a palm tree had fallen down on her and her child.

Brtnik remembers trying to shield her son from the sharp palm fronds. When the shock wore off, she said Benoit started crying, and she saw he had dirt on his face, in his mouth, in his diaper. He also had cuts on his head.

Brtnik said her back looked like some wild animal had scratched it, and “It was bleeding like a wolverine had scraped me.”

She was able to collect herself, and luckily, a nearby nurse offered to check on her and Benoit. A crowd had gathered, and one of the onlookers called an ambulance.

Brtnik said she and Benoit are fine, though she has had a headache and a sore neck all week. She is originally from Toronto and lived in Chicago, so she is not used to palm trees. 

Now, she and her family live in Santa Monica, where she’s never worried about being hit by palm fronds because the city keeps them trimmed. Still, she said Wednesday, she now finds herself more wary around the trees than before.

“The next day, we were home in Santa Monica, and it was a little windy,” she said. “I was not relaxed at all while walking around. I was a little more paranoid.” 

Brtnik said she’s still shaken by the experience, mainly because it happened at the busiest intersection in the city, in front of the Welwood Murray Library, which houses a city visitor’s center.

She said she doesn’t know the solution but wonders if the city should erect signs warning people to be cautious or if city landscaping crews should give the trees a closer trim.

“Unfortunately, we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” she said. 

That Saturday was particularly windy, and the National Weather Service had issued a wind advisory. Gusts reached nearly 50 mph at the Palm Springs International Airport. Brtnik said it was windy in Morongo Valley, where the family was staying, but she didn’t notice the wind in downtown Palm Springs.

Brtnik is not the first to wonder why the city doesn’t trim the palm tree skirts. 

Palm trees are eponymous with the city of Palm Springs and have been tied to the land since before the city was incorporated when members of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians used them to find water. The iconic trees line the city’s most scenic streets, appear on the city seal, and give the town its name and the names of some of its most prominent thoroughfares. 

Still, visitors and locals alike have witnessed skirts falling on cars or unsuspecting passersby, and the topic often comes up on social media when a skirt comes crashing down. The incident involving Brtnik and her son raised additional alarms, however, because a small child was put in danger, and first responders were summoned.

The answer to why some trees aren’t trimmed dates back to May 6, 2009, when the city adopted Resolution No. 22475 proclaiming the following:

All California and Mexican fan palms on public property must have their fruit pods removed; California fan palms should keep their skirts and fronds, only shearing enough to allow a minimum clearance of 12 feet and tidy the skirt’s appearance; and, conversely, Mexican fan palms require removal of dry fronds and skinning of their trunks for upkeep.

A city representative could not say whether the City Council plans to revisit the decision to trim the tree skirts. At a recent Main Street Palm Springs meeting, however, Mayor Pro tem Ron deHarte acknowledged the issue was “a long and ongoing concern” and said he would be in favor of having the conversation.

In the meantime, deHarte said, “I would encourage you to contact our city manager and express concern.”

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