Depending on who you ask, two trees — the blue gum eucalyptus that stand sentinel over Ventura —are not doing so well. Specifically, the easternmost tree, which unlike it’s sibling to the west, is foliage-free, reaching into the sky in a writhing, branchy mass, unusual for an evergreen.

Thoughts on the matter range from a lack of water caused by the ongoing drought, disease brought on by insects or fungus and even vandalism. The only thing for certain, however, is that both trees are old.

Originally, the hill upon which two trees reside once played host to 13, planted in 1898 by Joseph Sexton, a horticulturist, who thought they would look nice. The trees themselves aren’t even native to California but from Australia and require regular watering, which Sexton paid a neighbor to do. It’s no easy feat to reach the top of the hill alone, even by donkey, hauling gallons of water.

Five years later, a wildfire burned down eight of the trees, leaving the city with five that survived until one fateful Halloween night when a group of teenagers cut three of them down. New trees were planted by a group of caring citizens, only for those to be cut down, too. The eastern most tree is thought to be one of the original 13, while the other was planted to replace the three that were felled by the vandal teens.

So it is that now Ventura has two remaining, though for how much longer no one really knows.

Both trees reside on private property. The easternmost tree (the one affected most) sits on land owned by the Dabney-Lloyd Corporation while the other sits on Mariano Rancho. Dabney-Lloyd President Gary Brummett says that as far as he’s aware there is not currently anyone attempting to treat or water the tree and that the tree’s health is the result of a number of factors, the most damaging being vandalism.

“Predominately the biggest problem with both trees is the damage that’s been caused by trespassers over the years,” said Brummett. “There’s been a tremendous amount of vandalism that has gone on with people carving in it; I’m sure that hasn’t helped at all.”

Dave Hadlen is the great grandson of William Sexton who, along with William’s brother Joseph, purchased the land on which the original trees were planted in 1893. Hadlen is now the managing partner of the Walker-Hearn Ranch, which sits adjacent to the hill.

Hadlen says that “it’d be a shame” if Ventura were to lose the trees.

“They are iconic, they are symbolic of the city, and they’ve been there since 1898, 32 years after the city was incorporated,” said Hadlen. “The trees have been there for 80 percent of the time the city has been in existence.”

Richard Atmore is the property manager of the Dabney-Lloyd property and his cattle graze in the canyon and in the pastures around two trees hill. Several years ago, Atmore placed no-trespassing signs on the entrance to the trails leading up to the trees at the behest of the property owners who asked to limit access for safety reasons.

Atmore says that the easternmost tree is most certainly dead and that age and vandalism are the culprits.

“We’re not afraid of watering the trees,” said Atmore. When inspecting the fence separating grazing pastures for the cattle, Atmore and his crew have brought water up for the trees and regularly make repairs to the fences, which have been cut by trespassers several times. “We’re going to wait and see what happens, but I don’t think that tree is going to come back,” he said, adding that “It’s pretty sad to see people etching in them and so forth” and that the tree is covered in graffiti and paint as high as one can climb.

Atmore says that he is looking into the possibility of planting more trees, should the current tree die, but that it isn’t going to happen anytime soon and that any plans to do so will have to go through a lengthy permitting process.

Winston Wright, who issues tree permits for the Ventura County Planning Division, says that, while there is nothing the county can do without being asked by the property manager (and notes that the trees aren’t a protected species), maybe it’s time to accept that change is inevitable.

“Every tree has a finite life, even if it’s 2,000 years. Living things die eventually,” said Wright, noting that the blue gum eucalyptus can live between 100 and 200 years in semi-arid climates such as California. In their native Australia, they can live between 400 and 500 years. “What does it need? It needs water and the right soil conditions; and if it gets stressed, insects could get in. There are too many different scenarios to cover.”