BURBANK RESIDENTS, BUSINESSES REPLACE EUCALYPTUS TREES.

Byline: Daily News

The six towering Vickroy Park eucalyptus trees that were felled by El Nino storms last year will be replaced Tuesday with ash trees paid for by the residents and businesses of Burbank.

Continuing a tradition that has helped earn Burbank the name ``Tree City,'' the Civic Pride Committee will plant the trees at its 44th annual planting ceremony.

This year, the committee will be joined by the Department of Park and Recreation and the Burbank Heritage Commission in the event at 2 p.m. at the park at 2300 Monterey Place.

``The loss of those trees was devastating for the park,'' said Eileen Cobos, vice chairwoman of the Civic Pride Committee. It's a small park, but a very well-used park, Cobos said.

Almost $5,000 has been raised so far through the annual Plant-a-Tree project to pay for the ash tree planting, Cobos said. Last year, $7,000 was raised.

Heritage Commissioner and passionate tree fan Ricki Stambaugh will give a brief talk at the ceremony Tuesday on the historical significance of trees in Burbank.

``There's always been a tremendous interest in trees,'' she said. It started in 1927 when the first president of the Parks Board, Octavia Lesuerer, became upset because the city was losing its pepper trees to development and new roads.

During Lesuerer's tenure, the city planted more than 30,000 trees.

Before the city was founded in 1911, the land was arid and didn't have much in the way of trees, Stambaugh said. Among the first planted were sycamores along the Los Angeles River.

In 1817, Franciscan priests planted four sycamore trees at each of the compass points of a property on what is now Lake Street, using them as ``compass trees,'' each one representing a direction: north, south, east and west. The area marked the halfway point between downtown Los Angeles and the Mission San Fernando, and missionaries would camp there overnight.

The city is in the process of reconstructing the landmark by planting four sycamores at a new Compass Tree Park on Lake Street between Cedar and Providencia avenues.

The city will be taking inventory of its historic and significant trees as part of a historical survey being funded by state and city grants, said Craig Bullock, chairman of the Heritage Commission.

``We are very fortunate to live in a city that places such an importance on trees,'' said Stambaugh. ``Not only do they promote a healthy environment, but they beautify our city.''

Those wishing to contribute to the project can send their donation to the Plant-a-Tree Program in care of the Burbank Civic Pride Committee at 110 N. Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank, CA 91502. Checks should be payable to the city of Burbank.

For more information, call [phone].