Have you ever been there when a tree has failed naturally ?

[Neil Frost]

hahaha, if you don't fancy it we could always bounce it off the electric wires that it's leaning towards...

 

[browncow]

Great thread. I would love to see a large failure as it happened. Seen plenty of branches coming down in storms but no whole trees. I did see a video of an arborist in Wellington NZ who scarfed a large pine or mac and then was getting ready to put in the backcut when it failed at the roots I think. Would have been plenty exciting!

[Adam Bourne]

I was working in a local manor park about 8 years ago removing dead wood from on old chestnut about 3 maybe 4 trees away was a twinned stemmed sycamore there had been no rain fall and no wind it was mid summer and one limb had just collapsed while we were having dinner. the owners first thought we had done it:confused1: but then realised what had happened, we call this a summer limb drop were i come from, very rare but caused from previous high winds weakening the structure of the two limbs, then as summer comes and the tree is in full foliage it can not take the weight, pretty amazing to see lucky we parked under a different tree for lunch:blushing:

[armybloke]

I was at Batsford Arboretum, Cotswolds and it was very windy on the ridge tops. I was a little off piste as I spotted a copse of really old gnarled Beech and Oak that I was going to have a nosey at. As I approached a limb tore out of an oak about 30cm dia and although it was spectacular to watch I did a quick U-turn back into the arboretum. That limb fall is a 1st for me!

[Matthew Arnold]

Saw a line of mature beech all in decline thanks to our friends Kretzchmaria deusta and Giant Polypore. They fell over one by one as their root plates were intertwined. Was rather spectacular watching them drop like dominoes.

[Harrison2604]

Some pictures from around my place...

 

I only witnessed the the Oak in the last 3 pictures, it just randomly snapped out when walking the dog in moderate winds.

 

The first picture, the Poplar... its on a pretty steap lean due to prevailing winds, and it's over our drive... all the Poplars are on a heavy lean going all the way up the drive, but this one... as you can see, I'm guessing has laminated itself because of the compression?

 

Take down, or not to take down?

 

Ta

[Matthew Arnold]

I would top the poplar as it would make a nice bat tree with that split.

[scotspine1]

1 - arrived at client's house to remove a 30ft storm damaged Bradford pear, knocked on her door, as she opened the door the remaining crown of the tree just broke out at the stem and crashed onto her Toyota Rav. She blamed us despite the fact i'd only walked up the driveway and the other guys were sat in the truck.

 

2 - was carrying out removals in a woodland garden, we felled a couple of trees and were all standing talking about who was gonna chip etc when a 50ft dead oak in the neighbours garden failed at the base and came crashing through the fence into the area where we were standing.

[Daniël Bos]

when I was 15 (an unknown number of years ago) I was cycling home (in the Netherlands) in a hurry to beat the onset of a summer rainstorm when out of nowhere the oak I passed got struck by lightning and a 60-70cm dia branch came off. It was the only thing for two miles around that was higher than me, I am in debt with that tree.