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Cal Baptist Students Displaced Because Of Toppled Tree

RIVERSIDE (CBSLA) — More than a dozen students at Cal Baptist University were displaced Wednesday after Santa Ana winds knocked down a pine tree and destroyed their dorm building.

Cal Baptist Tree
(Credit: CBS)

At about 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, the 50-year-old pine crime came tumbling down onto the dormitory forcing students to evacuate. No one was injured during the ordeal.

"We have good students," said Vice President of Student Services John Montgomery. "They were in class when this happened, so we're happy about that."

According to the Riverside Fire Department, 17 students were displaced and are now staying in other campus housing or hotels.

"We were able to move entire apartments to another apartment here on campus and keep the roommates together.

cal baptist tree 2
(Credit: CBS)

While there are was another tree in the area, school officials are confident that it will withstand strong winds in the future.

"The interesting thing about this tree, if we just look at it, is that the trunk is about 20 feet high," said Montgomery. "If you look at the tree behind it, you've got three different trunks going on."

If one of the trunks faltered against the wind the damage would be far less than the latest incident.

Montgomery said the school's safety and landscaping teams will continue to trim and monitor the large trees on campus to prevent future disasters.

According to university officials, displaced students will not return to their original housing placements until the end of the semester.

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