Hurricane wood

[florida]

This is one of those times that I really wish I had a sawmill! Charley knocked over so many trees that it's amazing there are any left. Most have been cut into 2 or 3 foot pieces but yesterday I saw a Bobcat moving a stack of 24" DBH pine logs out to the road for pickup. All I could see was boards. Out on Sanibel Island all the Australian pines that lined the main road have been cut down to the trunks which are just waiting for the saw. They are all about 15 to 20 feet tall and some have to be 42" DBH or better. Lots of burl and crotch wood on them too. I lost 2 16" oaks from my yard that I had to make into firewood. Virtually every eucalyptus I've seen has been on the ground and many of them are 16 to 20 feet to the first limb.  I've also learned that I never want a mahogany tree in my yard as they break like glass at the first sign of wind.  Looks like there's a reason palms are the predominant tropical trees. The only palms I've seen on the ground have been obviously sick or diseased.  This would be a woodworkers paradise right now with every kind of exotic wood you can imagine stacked by the roads waiting to be chipped for mulch.         

[rebocardo]

I really had wanted to go down and cut some of that stuff into planks, I just was never able to connect with anyone where I could crash for the night with my truck and trailer. From reading the posts here, I knew Palm was not one of the trees to try :-)