SWAMPSCOTT — A large tree fell “out of the blue” on Friday morning, knocking over a telephone pole and taking down power lines in a residential neighborhood.
Police responded to Walker and Bank roads at about 9:40 a.m. and found a tree lying on top of wires in front of a residence and partly into the roadway.
No injuries were reported and there was no damage to cars or houses in the area, Police Sgt. Jay Locke said.
“Some old tree just fell over and took everything out,” said Locke. “It just happened to be a tree that broke on its own that actually fractured and took out the pole — it snapped it in half basically.
“(It’s) just fortunate that no one was in the area at the moment, motor vehicle-wise or pedestrian-wise.”
Locke said there had been no reports of damaged trees in the area, and that it fell “out of the blue.” He said the tree may have been weakened in a recent storm.
Surrounding roads were shut down to traffic while Department of Public Works crews worked to remove the tree and National Grid assessed whether to de-energize the power lines or add new lines, Locke said.
“They shut the area down for pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic, fearing that it was going to take down the poles to the left and right of it,” he said.
The Swampscott Fire Department also responded to check for live wires in the neighborhood.
Fire Chief Graham Archer said National Grid turned off the power for part of the area to make repairs.
“National Grid should be there for an extended period into the early evening (on Friday) replacing a pole and wires,” said Archer.
