It took everyone by surprise, but luckily no one was hurt.
Fitness trainer Mark Wolf was teaching a step aerobics class in the parking lot by the seawall in Vancouver’s West End on Saturday morning.
When the class was over, he said, about five people were still hanging around, and they started to hear some cracking sounds from a nearby tree.
“The tree had been making the cracking sound for 15 to 20 minutes at the point I started filming,” Wolf told Global News in an online interview.
As he turned the camera away from the tree, a very loud cracking is heard behind him.
He whipped around just in time to film a huge branch crashing down to the ground.
One of the people in his class was already on the phone to the City of Vancouver when the tree fell, he added.
The City said the branch, from a Lombardy Poplar (Populus nigra) tree, was removed and the area was secured by park board staff later that day.
The park board arborist also did an inspection, and crews fully removed it over the course of two days. They discovered a hollow cavity that was detectable without an invasive inspection.
The few trees of that species that remain in the area are being examined to determine the best course of action to ensure public safety and prevent future breaks, the city said.
“I didn’t realize how surprised I was by the tree falling until I watched (the video) back,” Wolf said. “And I’m hopeful my step class doesn’t cause any more trees to fall!”