Skip in Skip x Embed x Share One woman was killed when a eucalyptus tree collapsed on a wedding party taking photos in Southern California Time 
 
 Los Angeles County Fire Dept. firefighters work at the scene where a large tree fell on a wedding party in Whittier, Calif., Dec. 17. (Photo: Keith Durflinger, The Whittier Daily News via AP) 
 
 A joyous wedding party was cut short Saturday afternoon when a large tree in a southern California park fell on attendees, killing one and injuring five others. 
 
 Officials in Whittier, Calif., said they received multiple 911 calls around 4:30 p.m. PT of a fallen tree in Penn Park. When officers arrived, they found some family members who had gathered for wedding photos trapped underneath a large eucalyptus tree. 
 
 Fire officials arrived shortly after with chain saws to cut people loose from the tree's limbs. One of the victims, who was not identified, died at the scene. 
 
 "They were here for a joyous occasion and then, unfortunately, a very large tree interrupted that," said John Tripp, a Los Angeles County Fire Department deputy chief. "They right now are going through a lot of issues that we are trying to support." 
 
 Los Angeles County Fire Dept. personnel work at the scene where a large tree fell on a wedding party in Whittier, Calif., on Dec. 17. Southern California fire officials say one person died and five people were injured after a large eucalyptus tree fell down onto a wedding party taking pictures at a park. (Photo: Keith Durflinger, The Whittier Daily News via AP) 
 
 Another victim was taken to a local trauma center, Tripp said. The others were hospitalized and treated for minor injuries. 
 
 "Fortunately, there weren’t more people that were injured by the tree collapse," he said ."It could have been worse.” 
 
 Arborists are scheduled to arrive on Sunday to help investigate the cause of the tree collapse. Tripp said he does not know the cause yet, but he believes the tree may have been weakened by the five-year drought as well as the recent pre-winter rain storm that hit the region. 
 
 "Not that I think this could have been prevented," he said, "but it’s just again showing that the vegetation in southern California is still very stressed from the drought we’ve had for five years.” 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2hUxdyi ||||| Seven members of a wedding party, including the 4-year-old girl, were injured and one died when a huge eucalyptus tree fell on them at Penn Park in Whittier, Calif. Saturday evening according to LACo fire officials. The park, located on Penn Street near Whittier College, is still closed to the public for the investigation. Dec. 19, 2016. (Leo Jarzomb, SGV Tribune/ SCNG) 
 
 WHITTIER >> City employees surveyed Penn Park for leaning trees and broken branches, but found no safety issues, hours before a massive eucalyptus tree toppled onto a wedding party, killing a 61-year-old grandmother and injuring seven others. 
 
 “We have been a Tree City USA for more than 30 years, and take care to manage our urban forest,” Whittier City Manager Jeff Collier said Monday following a press conference at the park. “It’s very rare that this would happen.” 
 
 Witnesses reported the group was taking pictures beneath the 80- to 90-foot-tall tree at the park on Penn Street, around 4:30 p.m. Saturday when it suddenly uprooted and fell, trapping about 20 people. 
 
 On Monday, arborists were inspecting the tree to determine what caused it to fall. Collier said they were checking for disease or rot, soil stability and the health of the roots. 
 
 The tree was more than 50 years old and was last pruned two years ago, said Collier, who called the incident a “freakish situation.” 
 
 Collier said city employees had given a routine visual inspection of the park the morning before the tree fell and found “no apparent issues.” The wedding party did not have a permit to take photos at the park and city staff were not on site at the time. 
 
 It wasn’t clear when the experts would come to a conclusion about the cause of the collapse, which was ruled an accident by Los Angeles County Fire Department officials. 
 
 Coroner’s officials identified the woman who died as Margarita Mojarro, 61, of San Pedro. Officials did not know whether the woman was related to the bride or the groom. She was a mother of four and grandmother of four, according to a family member, who asked for privacy. 
 
 City, fire and police officials did not have an update on the condition of a 4-year-old girl who was hospitalized in critical condition or the six other adults who were injured by the tree collapse. 
 
 “Saturday’s tragic accident at Penn Park defies explanation,” Mayor Joe Vinatieri said in a written statement Monday. “The city is investigating and inspecting the park, and will provide answers to many of the questions we all have, including what effect the drought, Friday’s heavy rainfall and other factors may have played in this terrible accident. Those answers will be provided to the family, and our community, as soon as possible.” ||||| Sorry, your browser doesn't support Flash , needs a Flash update , or has Flash disabled. You need Flash to watch this video. EMBED </>More News Videos A 61-year-old San Pedro woman was killed on her daughter's wedding day when a tree fell on her during a photo shoot at a Whittier park. 
 
 A woman who was killed when a tree fell on a wedding party at a Whittier park over the weekend has been identified as the mother of the bride.The coroner's office identified the woman as 61-year-old Margerita Mojarro of San Pedro. A close friend of the family, who is also their neighbor, confirmed to Eyewitness News that Mojarro was the mother of the bride.The tree fell Saturday around 4:30 p.m. at Penn Park , killing Mojarro and critically injuring a 4-year-old girl, who suffered head trauma.The family friend said the little girl is the bride's niece.Mojarro's daughter had just gotten married and the wedding party had come to Penn Park to take photos. The group was posing for pictures when the tree suddenly uprooted and gave way, crashing down on those below. Around 20 people were trapped under the large eucalyptus tree's trunk and branches.In addition to the fatality and the injuries suffered by the little girl, at least four others were hurt as well.That little girl's mother spoke to Eyewitness News over the phone on Monday. She said her daughter is improving at the hospital and is moving her arms and legs.Penn Park remained closed on Monday as the investigation continues. Meantime, Whittier officials say they want answers."We have a regular tree-maintenance program. We have a certified arborist on our staff that are managing our parks and our street trees, but at this point, we want to make sure we determine what caused this tree to go over," said Whittier City Manager Jeff Collier.Though the cause of the collapse is still unknown, Collier said the weather may have played a role."We did have rain, which we haven't seen in quite some time. We have the drought conditions that have occurred out here, and we did have some heavy winds that occurred on Friday night," Collier said. "Those are all possible contributing factors, but we don't know, and we'll allow the arborist to make those determinations based upon the completion of the investigation."According to Collier, a certified arborist was actually at the park on Saturday morning to check things out after the storm but did not notice any issues.An arborist was expected at the scene of the incident on Monday to look into what caused the tree to collapse and also check the structural integrity of the rest of the trees in the park to ensure safety before the park reopens.
– "It’s just again showing that the vegetation in southern California is still very stressed from the drought we’ve had for five years." So said LA County Fire Department Deputy Chief John Tripp in the wake of a Saturday tragedy in Whittier, reports USA Today: A family was taking wedding photos in Penn Park near a 100-foot-tall eucalyptus tree when it uprooted and fell, trapping some of the party underneath. A woman was killed and five others, including 4-year-old girl, injured in the incident, which happened at 4:30pm local time, reports the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. The relationship of the woman and girl to the bride and groom has not been released. NBC Los Angeles reports as many as 20 people were trapped under the tree, and chainsaws were used to extricate them. A witness shared this wrenching observation about the bride: "She was limping a little bit, but she was screaming about her mom—they couldn’t wake her up." An arborist will investigate Monday or Tuesday. NBC notes it rained heavily the previous night.