Signs of Trees Getting Ready To Fall

I suppose this would seem common sense to most of us, but some of the warning signs might not be noticeable on a forest floor. With falling trees in the news recently, The Sacramento Bee warns us of some things to look for when trees are going to fall:

“There are warning signs (before a fall),”. “We’ll see cracks in the soil around the base of the tree; that means something’s happening (with the roots below). Or the tree will have a little lean to its trunk, and it starts leaning more.
“You may see the ground raise up around the base of the tree,” he added. “When the wind is blowing, you can see the ground actually move. That’s scary.”

Fortunately, we just have one chestnut tree on the south side of our house to worry about, but I remember a big windstorm back around '76 when I was living on a ranch out in Maple Creek. My cabin had big pine trees right next to it. I could hear trees snapping and falling up and down the mountain and was of the mind it wasn't if the trees near my cabin fell, but when. I was scared to death, but the big trees I was worried about never fell. The tips the Bee gives us wouldn't have helped as the trees I saw next day that had fallen had snapped off a few feet above the ground and fell over. No roots involved.

As is obvious, I survived with only a story to tell.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/living/home-garden/article125937214.html#storylink=cpy