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Insight please

Started by CCC4, June 26, 2016, 11:52:26 AM

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CCC4

  I cant figure this one out, No cat face, no hole, live top...but yet this tree is scorched from top to bottom. Tree was a clearance tree, knew it was a shell, I'm very versed in cutting shells but this tree exploded on me. Seems it had a structural flaw i didnt see. Stuff like this can blow up on any faller but I'm still scratching my head as to the internal fire damage and how it burnt. Or did it burn?? Internal combustion? Some sort of black rot? Lightening? I can't figure it out!

 

  

Autocar

Hollow trees are always dangerous, just guessing but maybe it had more stress then you realized and the tension was so great that it exploded after the tension was relieved on one side.
Bill

celliott

Lightning can do some really weird stuff....

This winter we had a sugaring mainline where the anchor tree (steel hook with 12.5 gauge high tensile wire) got struck. One mainline the wire got vaporized, no sign of it, wire ties hanging on a pipe with no wire. It was weird! If you looked close you could see some signs of the lightning on the anchor tree (a big yellow birch). I don't think there's a definite rule of what lightning can do to a tree.

Anyways lighting is my guess.
Chris Elliott

Clark 666C cable skidder
Husqvarna and Jonsered pro saws
265rx clearing saw
Professional maple tubing installer and maple sugaring worker, part time logger

bill m

I have seen similar on the inside of trees and I don't think it is from fire. On the ones I have seen it was caused by decay.
NH tc55da Metavic 4x4 trailer Stihl and Husky saws

treeslayer2003

i don't think it fire, i have seen plenty like that but never seen one blow up that easy..........

RHP Logging

I've seen stuff like that.  No really sure either.  Did it looked charred?  I've seen really black rot too.  I've had lightning struck trees that completely healed over the scars and came apart on me. Couldn't tell from the outside.  I'm guessing it's rot being that hollow.
Buckin in the woods

mills

It didn't blow apart, but I cut one similar to that on on Saturday morning. It was a large red oak over 50" at the base. Tree looked healthy with no flaws in the trunk. The tree had only about 4" of sap wood around the diameter that was holding it up. It was in a low spot at the bottom of a gully, so probably had more water at the roots than a red oak likes. I was also told that the landowner from years past use to burn his woods off every other year or so.
Needless to say, the tree went from valuable to junk when I saw the black saw dust come rolling out. Plus I was trying to throw the tree against the weight in the top. No holding wood, and it sat down on my saw. My bank account and my natural sunny disposition both took a beating on this one.  :(

WildlandFirefighter912

Looks like heart disease that some trees get. Lots of oaks get it.

CCC4

Normally I don't see rot that black. It definitely made me take another look for sure. Looked charred like a whiskey barrel. Anyway, whatever it was sure wasn't fun on my 2nd tree of that morning! LOL! Thanks guys!

Mills did you say any of those curse words?? LOL! Hope your saw wasn't a total loss, I hate when a shell stalls.

mills

Quote from: CCC4 on June 27, 2016, 04:52:57 PM
Normally I don't see rot that black. It definitely made me take another look for sure. Looked charred like a whiskey barrel. Anyway, whatever it was sure wasn't fun on my 2nd tree of that morning! LOL! Thanks guys!

Mills did you say any of those curse words?? LOL! Hope your saw wasn't a total loss, I hate when a shell stalls.

No, it sat down on the bar. Wasn't real sure where this tree was going, so took the saw off to get it out of harms way. Like you, that was the second big hollow tree that morning. The other did show a small spot that made me think it may be bad. And both had the whiskey barrel look on the inside.

Now if that new saw had gotten torn up I would have went looking for a whiskey barrel. :D

grassfed

Rot can definitely look like charcoal after enough years go by. My sugar bush was cut in the late 80s. When I first saw the stumps in the 90s they looked like regular stumps that were beginning to get punky. Now every one of them look like charcoal and you would swear that they had been burned. 
Mike

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