Here's another pic. Having trouble posting more than one pic in a post.

Storm would be the immediate cause, the clustered branching being the weak point and all the I.d. needed to identify this as a callery pear, cultivar notwithstanding.

That's the typical appearance of this tree.

if you know that rhiz .. why didnt you tell us what it is ..

to my eye .. not recognizing the tree ...

its overly mature.. too close to the house [and you are VERY LUCKY it didnt fall on the house] .. and historically improperly pruned .... and God knows what a tree that size needs stakes for..

i vote for immediate removal .. as a nuisance ... and potential threat ... to you and your home ...
it most likely failed.. due to 'included bark' .. see link ... which i THINK i can see in the second pic ... if so, it is a natural function of the tree itself.. crotch angles.. most likely complicated by the improper pruning.. followed by the wind/storm... with the weight at height.. that caused the ultimate failure ...

in other words.. its the trees fault ... one cant change its genetic predisposition to improper crotch angles ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Ken, the previous poster already identified it as a callery pear (such as 'Bradford' or one of the others).

touche'

missed it completely..

ornamental pear ... do i get a second vote for removal???

ken

qa4me, I know that this is a tree forum but my attention is on your house, really beautiful.
I didn't even know pears will grow in So Cal!!!
Find out more about ornamental pears, search "Coming Plague of Pears"
High end house, trailer park tree.

That small stake is unusual....

I see darker wood on the top of the broken branch. To overanalyze I bet water got in there and caused rot.

That is a decent size for an ornamental pear. An accomplishment. Of course an oak in my yard randomly dropped a branch the size of that tree today but hey, the oak is 60 plus years old not twenty

Callery pears typically have weak branch attachments, clustered at the top of the trunk. Result is included bark between long, heavy branches. Some pruning was done to remove branches, but crown reduction would also be needed to reduce the load on each branch. No more than 1/3 of the crown can be removed per year, so long branches will remain and will still be subject to similar wind damage. However, I am always for saving any tree that can be saved. The world already shows signs of climate change caused by lack of trees.

What is that dark line around the trunk about waist height? Don't tell me something is girdling the tree!

One thing for sure - the next two branches (to the right just above the pole, and behind facing the house) will follow that first one down soon. The branch above the pole already has a hairline crack visible in the first pic. So ditto to Ken on urgent removal of this dangerous tree.

Resin

Yep, that's big enough to hurt! Or worse.

+oM

One final observation, a white flowering tree is not effective in front of a white building, a white board fence makes it even worse. IMO choose another color for your new tree, one that doesn't get lost in the background.

Hi all,
Thank you so very much for all of your input. It has been helpful and insightful!
Sorry, I haven't gotten back sooner. I was supposed to be email-ed any responses to my post, but I never saw a notification and then I couldn't find my post. ha-ha
Pineresin, you were right on. The 2 branches fell the next day. It was a blessing know one was hurt.
Just curious; do any of you happen to be an arborist by profession? If so, may I contact you or is anyone familiar with or know someone in the 92883 area that I might contact?
Again, thank you!

you do not need an arborist.. one specially trained in tree doctoring..

you need an INSURED tree removal service ...

the price may be wildly different.. or it might not ...

check your local phone book ... and get 3 estimates ... and call and verify that any insurance document is currently in force ...

you are looking for full removal.. and since its right out front.. grinding of the stump ...

i would not wait another month for removal ...

ken

Ken, I second the 'removal' suggestion. The pics are the reason I'd never have one. It's just doing what Bradford pears do.

Hello again,
Everything happened as you all predicted. The branches fell one by one and although I didn't witness it, I think it pretty much happened the way Pineresin wrote starting with the 2 branches to the right and then the rest of the branches fell landing on this home and a neighboring home. The tree was removed about a week after this happened. I am not saying that you all are not experts, it's very obvious to me that you all know what you are talking about based on your predictions and later what came to be which is the reason why I came to this forum in the first place. But for documentation purposes...the reason for me asking for an arborist is that I was hoping one of you were an arborist or might know of an arborist on this site or in my area that might be able to diagnose, from the pictures,
what the actual cause was for the deterioration of the tree. I need to find out if vandalism could have been the cause for the destruction of this tree i.e. kids hanging from the branch causing it to break thereby causing shock thereby killing the tree or if this was going to happen anyway because it's the nature of tree, rotted or because of improper care. So again your help is appreciated.

It would probably happen eventually due to the nature of the tree and the horrible branching structure they always give them in the nursery. Whomever keeps developing Bradford Pears with that stupid cluster of branches should be sued for millions of $$$.

Wow it got very quiet here. Thank you famartan and all who contributed. Your insights helped me know what I was looking at and I have been able to find a lot out about these trees. Famartan you are right. It is almost a crime to continue creating and using these trees at least without prewarning of what's to come. It's not an "if" but a "when" as far as I can tell from all the countless pictures, articles and videos, I have seen about the "Bradford Pear's" or "Callery Pear's" downed branches which seemingly are without much warning. Although storm and wind may exascerbate the condition it doesn't seem to be the cause. Hopefully others will see this and be warned.