Roots Give Way to Rain-Soaked Ground

Heavy rains over the past fews days in the Greater Brandon area caused a towering tree at Little and Durant roads in Valrico to cave in to the pressure of rain-soaked grounds.

In a tweet sent by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office on Saturday, June 8, at about 6 p.m., word came that crews were "working to clear" the downed tree. Another tweet, issued at about the same time, noted the "moderate/heavy rain moving through parts" of Hillsborough County.

Caution on the roadways was urged.

Larry McKinnon, a sheriff's office spokesperson, was at the Winthrop substation, meeting with reporters to discuss the case of a 20-year-old man who reporetedly confessed to severely beating his girlfriend's 3-year-old son inside the couple's Greater Brandon area apartment.

• See

Of the downed tree, McKinnon said he was not surprised by the downed-tree report.

Given the recent heavy rains, compounded with the local effects from Tropical Storm Andrea, "the ground is very soaked," he said. "A little bit of wind on top of that and trees can easily become uprooted."