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East Bay | Environment & Forest DefenseOak Grove Extraction #5
photos that i took in the afternoon of June 18 at the oak grove. The extractors now had five cherry pickers, climbers, a large crane, a giant crane and all sorts of new equipment. They began to chip away at our infrastructure. We held out heroically and risked our lives many times for what we believed in. It was hard to hear the screaming when people almost died. For hours this went on. My life was endangered several times. Slowly we lost our lines and tree sits.
I was on a line with another tree sitter. A wrecking ball was lowered near the line . The heavy wrecking ball pulled the line down. We both believed that the line would snap and that we would fall. It was only luck that the line slipped off the ball and did not break. The extractors spent 12 more hours before they finally chased us back to Redwood. It had taken them a huge police operation, massive amounts of heavy machinery and 23 hours to destroy the majority of our tree sits. But we were not totally beaten even then. We were still in the trees and one tree sitter had made it to the grove. We began to set up more lines that night.
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UCPD Chief Victoria Harrison points out to a climber and a crane operator where to attack next.
Police Chief and other plan from the ground.
Shem said that he had been attacked by an extractor wielding a pole saw and I saw the blood on his face and his torn pants. He was still alive and that was a good thing.
Extractors look through the wreckage of Koruna and steal some equipment (the rest was thrown away).
Extractors approach me on a line.
A cherry picker gets ready.
The crane towers above all of us.
The police chief watches as the cherry picker comes for the line I am on.
Olive and Bird defend Redwood.
Extractors approach Redwood but are stopped by branches.
Olive and Bird stand strong as extractors rev up a chain saw.
"Glasses" cuts off living branches of redwood while Olive stands on it closer to the tree. They cut off the end of several redwood branches and an oak branch. Earlier they cut two diodar branches.
Mando was sliced by a pole saw by extractors. His finger was cut and bled all over his hand and onto his climbing gear as they came for the rope we were on.
I was on a line with another Mando. Extractors attached a
cherry picker to our traverse line, cutting us off from the Bay tree on the other end. They then untied that end. The cherry picker moved toward us and began lowering their basket which in tern lowered the traverse line that we were attached to. We got near Redwood and were trying to climb up. The line lowered well below where we were. As we clung to the tips of branches the extractors yanked on the rope as hard as they could to make us loose our grip and fall. Luckily we did not. All day we had waited for news of the judges decision on the Oak Grove as far as if the university would be allowed to proceed with their plans to destroy it. At 5:00 the extractors had taken all of our sits and lines and left us in Redwood. Then we got the call on Squirtle's phone that we had a partial victory and the grove was still protected.
Lower Diodar with no tree sit. it is beutiful though.
A tree sitter on the wall of the stadium and all day had tried to get into the grove. police and the crane came after him. He tried to escape.
the would be tree sitter was chased and caught by extractors who were in a large cage which hung from a huge crane. He did not resist but was dangerously pulled into the cage. His line was cut and his backpack cut off and thrown out. He could have fallen to the asphalt below. He screamed as he was slammed to the floor of the cage. On the ground the police were very violent with him. I heard him scream, "Let go of my hair." Then he ceased to scream or move and we feared for his physical well-being.
A beautiful sunset ended this day of terror. life is so full of moments, both horrible and wonderful.
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