897tgigvib
Garden Master
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Yesterday before dark, here in the lakeside campsites area, I heard a loud *Snap*, the sound of a branch or tree falling through branches, followed by a double *thud* while I was on the porch smoking. I tried to follow the direction of it and to look around to try to find it. One of my jobs is to make sure everyone's camp is ok or to report damage caused by a tree fall or the like. In this case, I could not find it. One good thing is that I did not hear any metallic sound. A metallic sound during a tree fall is always a bad sign. That would mean that for sure a shed or trailer got hit. There was no metallic sound. Just the pop, rushing branches, and double thud sounds, which usually means a ground hit.
That snap or loud pop sound means a branch or trunk broke. The rushing sound always happens with any kind of fall of a tree or branch, especially from up high, and the doubling of the thud means it was either a very odd shaped tree or branch or two trees or a branch and a tree. Sometimes you see, when one tree or large branch goes down it can take another one down. Domino effect. (Domino effect falls have been known to take down 11 trees at once. I've seen it do 9 trees, three years ago almost exactly.)
We have a lot of Oak trees among the mostly Fir trees in this part of the forest, and some Pines and Madrones. Madrones rarely fall, but when they do it is by their roots and all if it was on a small cliff and erosion worked it loose. Pines rarely fall, but when they do it is huge and is caused by borers. We take them down well in advance when we see the signs of one becoming a hazard.
Fir trees might come down for the same reason, or sometimes they fall when they are skinny and old, what the forest rangers call "pecker poles". Those are the ones I cut down for safety and for the good of the forest health. Those skinny old ones take nutrients and moisture from the health of the better trees. When one of them goes down it's usually just a *slap* sound.
It is the Oak trees that are having serious troubles here. SUDDEN OAK DEATH SYNDROME. It had been going on since the 1990's, and took until around 2006 for the botanists to decide for sure the cause is PHYTOTHPHERA...spelling... fungus. This is a similar fungus to what gets other plants. It appears to come and go in 300 year cycles.
The sound of an Oak suddenly dying is often a pop or snap sound.
The fungus causes the oak to become hollow. By itself, that does not kill the tree. Actually, if the tree could be supported, it would not die from it at all. With the hollow trunk and branches though, the tree is weakened.
Then what happens is the hollow space can fill with water. Very heavy. Then it breaks. Suddenly, with a *POP* sound.
The result is a down Oak tree, and there is a very definite aroma. For those who have never smelled freshly cut Oak wood, it is a musty aroma, very earthy. When just a little bit is smelled, it can be a nice fresh smell. But when you are right near it, the aroma can be strong. A low and deep pungent smell.
This is what I have to do this morning. I have to find it if it actually is in our area. I suppose it could be up on Orchid Hill. Mostly I have to see if any camp was damaged and photo and report it.
That snap or loud pop sound means a branch or trunk broke. The rushing sound always happens with any kind of fall of a tree or branch, especially from up high, and the doubling of the thud means it was either a very odd shaped tree or branch or two trees or a branch and a tree. Sometimes you see, when one tree or large branch goes down it can take another one down. Domino effect. (Domino effect falls have been known to take down 11 trees at once. I've seen it do 9 trees, three years ago almost exactly.)
We have a lot of Oak trees among the mostly Fir trees in this part of the forest, and some Pines and Madrones. Madrones rarely fall, but when they do it is by their roots and all if it was on a small cliff and erosion worked it loose. Pines rarely fall, but when they do it is huge and is caused by borers. We take them down well in advance when we see the signs of one becoming a hazard.
Fir trees might come down for the same reason, or sometimes they fall when they are skinny and old, what the forest rangers call "pecker poles". Those are the ones I cut down for safety and for the good of the forest health. Those skinny old ones take nutrients and moisture from the health of the better trees. When one of them goes down it's usually just a *slap* sound.
It is the Oak trees that are having serious troubles here. SUDDEN OAK DEATH SYNDROME. It had been going on since the 1990's, and took until around 2006 for the botanists to decide for sure the cause is PHYTOTHPHERA...spelling... fungus. This is a similar fungus to what gets other plants. It appears to come and go in 300 year cycles.
The sound of an Oak suddenly dying is often a pop or snap sound.
The fungus causes the oak to become hollow. By itself, that does not kill the tree. Actually, if the tree could be supported, it would not die from it at all. With the hollow trunk and branches though, the tree is weakened.
Then what happens is the hollow space can fill with water. Very heavy. Then it breaks. Suddenly, with a *POP* sound.
The result is a down Oak tree, and there is a very definite aroma. For those who have never smelled freshly cut Oak wood, it is a musty aroma, very earthy. When just a little bit is smelled, it can be a nice fresh smell. But when you are right near it, the aroma can be strong. A low and deep pungent smell.
This is what I have to do this morning. I have to find it if it actually is in our area. I suppose it could be up on Orchid Hill. Mostly I have to see if any camp was damaged and photo and report it.
My DH alwys refered to Oak as P*ss Wood. He does not like the smell. 
All of the neighbors and I whent to see the fallen Oak, what we saw was this tree had only 3 inches of wood around it's circumference with the entire center totally gone as if it never ever had it. No rotten wood or saw dust, nothing ! It's roots were about 1 ft. in diameter and also hollow. 
