Total Pageviews

Thursday, September 14, 2017

Disaster Can Occur In An Instance

I went to cut down a dead aspen tree yesterday. Having cut down hundreds of trees in the past this one seemed like a simple one to cut down. It turned out to be anything but simple. The top photo shows the stump, the base of the tree about 12' behind the stump which is very unusual. I cut the tree about 90% through and inserted a wedge to make it fall in the direction I wanted it to fall. Instead it fell into the top of the tree in the bottom photo which acted as a fulcrum and instead of sliding off the smaller tree it hit it, bent over, and sling shot it straight back with the base about 15' in the air into the large tree in the middle photo.  
The base then hit the tree behind me and the tree rolled down the limbs sloping down right toward me and where I was standing. This all took a second and occurred very fast. Somehow I ended up on the other side of the tree laying parallel up against it.  
The heavy aspen shot up in the air and backward into a much larger tree. I ended up with a very sore pelvis and emergency room visit where X-Rays revealed no fractures. The little pine tree in the above photo just to the right of where the aspen is laying was hit so precisely that the aspen bent it over, did not roll off of it and when it sprung back it slung the aspen like a spear directly back and into the very big pine tree. Where it hit that big pine tree was about 12-15' up if broken branches are an indication. 

This tree as bizarre as it was could easily have been a widow maker. I feel very fortunate that I only ended up with a bruised hip and that I'm not dead. That little pine threw the aspen back with tremendous force and I sincerely doubt that the scenario would happen in a thousand years. I am sore but feel very fortunate to be here to write this blog.   


No comments: