Lightning Struck Trees !!

[Dub11]

It’s hard to show the amount of damage with just pictures but there were chunks of the tree laying across the street.
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You need to get a YouTube channel going so we can see that truck in action! And how' the wrist doing?

 

[Uzi]

You need to get a YouTube channel going so we can see that truck in action! And how' the wrist doing?

Haha never thought about that I do have lots of pictures and videos of it working. Wrist is doing good got the stitches out today. It’s not 100% yet but the doctor told me I could run a saw again and get it wet so that will make life easier.

I cut a Linden the other day. Looked like hard wood, but was much softer. Tree was very bendy. Almost like a birch tree. Light pieces.
Never heard of one before. Lady has a whole yard full. Lol

They are definitely soft makes your saw feel like it picked up a couple HP. They are a pretty common yard tree here in central Nebraska.

Yes light weight wood. Here I hear people refer to them more as basswood, but there are a few guys I notice calling them lins or linden.

Probably a regional thing but definitely the same thing as basswood around here people call them linden but I’ve heard the refered to as basswood too.

 

[RI Chevy]

Glad to hear your doing better!
Thanks for the info on the wood!

 

[Hardhack]

Here's one that got struck last summer. Still standing all the leaves died within a week.

 

[RI Chevy]

Wow. Looks like it would make nice firewood!

 

[usmcbuckwild]

I hate dropping lightening struck trees, especially ones that “heal” and continue to grow. The lightning definitely does some crazy stuff to the fibers and sap in the tree. It makes the tree VERY difficult to predict and they can do some crazy things.

We worked a pretty big pine a few weeks back that had been struck at least 3times in its life. The homeowners informed us of the 3 seperate times it was struck that he knew of (he was home every time). There was some external scarring but nothing crazy. Luckily the hurricane had blown it down so it was just bucking it up. Upon cutting it we found the evidence of previous strikes in broad, hardened, almost rock like lines inside the tree. It was like hitting a rock with the chain; no discernable chips and the saw revved like it was free spooling. Between the lines all of the wood fibers were literally dust, but around the lines and outside of them was healthy strong wood. You could follow the semi-spiral lines almost all the way up the trunk. It was amazing that the tree survived, let alone continued to grow. Tree was well over 125’ tall and 54” diameter about 4’ up the stick.

 

[huskyboy]

White pine or tulip poplar are probably the most lightning struck trees on the east coast as they are the two tallest species.

 

[bryanr2]

We try to find lightening struck trees to make firewood for sweat lodge ceremony.

Is seeking "lightening struck trees" for "spiritual reasons"?

 

[Mastermind]

Is seeking "lightening struck trees" for "spiritual reasons"?

Well.....maybe.

 

[Stihlsmoking]

Seams to be doing good. looks like it’s healing nicely.

 

[huskyboy]

Oaks are surprisingly tough trees

 

[Battle Cross 2]

Poplar at the end of the drive way. If I walk around to the right I can stand in the split. Trees been like this for at least 15 years. Still gets leaves every year. Some day it will be laying across the driveway but it's not close to anything so it can go whatever way it wants.

 

[Willard]

This time last year at about -30 below I removed this lightning struck spruce overhanging my customers cottage.

It stood for about 6 months after being sttuck before the extreme cold was causing it to break up becoming extra hazardous.
Shards of frozen wood was laying on the snow and any gust of wind would be like Russian roulette.
I've seen these trees in the past break off 3/4 of the way up and the top spears through a roof ending ip in the basement. One time one missing a baby crib by 5 feet with a baby in it. Top continued right through the floor.

Took a side rope installed with my Bigshot slingshot anchored 90° degree to lay to get it down safely.
You can see where the paint burnt burned off the steel fence from the lightening arc grounding to it.
Lots of shattered wood and curled up bark in last pic.

 

[Willard]

This one's a little too close for comfort, Lol.

 

[RI Chevy]

YIKES. Almost went into the sh'tter.

 

[Willard]

YIKES. Almost went into the sh'tter.

Looks like a weigh scale on the floor a few inches directly under the tree.

 

[Gizzard]

That spruce was troublesome for sure. One way or the other...If couldn't stop the toilet with its roots it was going to do the job with its limbs.

 

[blacksmith]

I apologize because I am not sure but I may have posted these pictures in another thread maybe?

Here's a Kentucky coffee wood tree that me and @Scotty Overkill did. The tree was about 95 ft tall and the main trunk was almost 50 ft to the crotch.

As you can see the lightning struck the one top and traveled down the main trunk. Scott wasn't sure about the safety of climbing it to top it out because we weren't sure how deep tht the fracture went. So a bucket truck was rented and it was topped out from the safety of the bucket.

After that mess was cleaned up it was time to drop the massive trunk. 55" at the stump cut and almost 3 ft at the small end.

Once the lightning reached the main trunk it was superficial and only blew out the bark.

The log was solid and would have made some beautiful knot free boards but it was too tight for my cousin to get his machine in there to get them out. The tree was smack in the middle behind a row of town houses with not very much room between the houses and the creek, plus the neighbors wanted to get there fences back up.







@Scotty Overkill posing.



Timberrrrr!

 

[Dub11]

I apologize because I am not sure but I may have posted these pictures in another thread maybe?

Here's a Kentucky coffee wood tree that me and @Scotty Overkill did. The tree was about 95 ft tall and the main trunk was almost 50 ft to the crotch.

As you can see the lightning struck the one top and traveled down the main trunk. Scott wasn't sure about the safety of climbing it to top it out because we weren't sure how deep tht the fracture went. So a bucket truck was rented and it was topped out from the safety of the bucket.

After that mess was cleaned up it was time to drop the massive trunk. 55" at the stump cut and almost 3 ft at the small end.

Once the lightning reached the main trunk it was superficial and only blew out the bark.

The log was solid and would have made some beautiful knot free boards but it was too tight for my cousin to get his machine in there to get them out. The tree was smack in the middle behind a row of town houses with not very much room between the houses and the creek, plus the neighbors wanted to get there fences back up.

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@Scotty Overkill posing.

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Timberrrrr!

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I think they could of got some more fencing around that tree.

 

[RI Chevy]

Nice job with that tree guys!