A tree crashed to the ground next to the Caltrain tracks at Palo Alto High School on Tuesday, Sept. 22, temporarily trapping cars in a campus parking lot and rattling nearby classrooms.

The tree fell at 3:32 p.m. beside the school's 300s building, as reported by the Paly Voice. It blocked the exit from the parking lot near the 800s building until district staff could clear the debris.

Most of the school's landscaping crew had clocked out at 3:30 p.m., two minutes before the tree came down, campus supervisor Edgard Gonzales told the Paly Voice. Several district staff members, both on duty and off, helped clear the debris, Gonzales said.

Spanish teacher Angela Ambrosio told the student newspaper her class sometimes practices speaking exercises outside near that spot. On Sept. 22, they were indoors.

"We would have all been hurt," Ambrosio told the Paly Voice. "We would have had broken arms and legs, and maybe if someone got hit in the head, that would have been it."

Whether the tree struck the tracks or fell beside them is unclear, and Caltrain has not confirmed any service disruption. Palo Alto Unified has not issued a public statement or announced any follow-up inspection.

The species, size and condition of the tree have not been reported. Whether the district plans to inspect other campus trees along the rail corridor is unknown.

The school sits steps from the Churchill Avenue Caltrain crossing, a corridor already drawing city safety spending. Palo Alto committed $1 million in its fiscal year 2027 budget toward a quiet zone at the crossing, the Almanac reported, after students and parents said repeated train horns near the school were triggering.

The Sept. 22 tree fall adds a new question to that stretch of campus: what condition are the trees in along the tracks, and who is responsible for monitoring them?