Danger of parking around trees...

[Homeby5]

I'm up in a CG near Talkeetna Alaska. Heard a cracking sound and then a crash. Poor guy across from me had a pretty good size tree fall onto his Class C. Everyone is OK and from what we could tell...no signs that tree was weak. Also...no wind.
Anyway...just a heads up to check your surroundings...

[Country Road]

Originally Posted by Homeby5

I'm up in a CG near Talkeetna Alaska. Heard a cracking sound and then a crash. Poor guy across from me had a pretty good size tree fall onto his Class C. Everyone is OK and from what we could tell...no signs that tree was weak. Also...no wind.
Anyway...just a heads up to check your surroundings...

That’s where you take a lot of pictures for your insurance. That’s just bad luck and if you’re far from home with damage, that’s terrible.

[Homeby5]

Originally Posted by Country Road

That’s where you take a lot of pictures for your insurance. That’s just bad luck and if you’re far from home with damage, that’s terrible.

Yeah...the victim is into a several month Alaska trip. He is from Ohio...a LONG way from home. Hopefully hisbrig is still drivable and won't screw his trip up.

[Unplanned Tourist]

A buddy and his wife were parked down by my campfire area when 2 trees blew over!

They landed only 12 feet from his rig, and would have destroyed it if he was under them. They were inside it at the time and wondered what the shaking was when they landed! I am so thankfull they didn't get hurt.

Here's a couple of pictures taken before he moved his MH and then when we were cleaning up the downed trees. They weren't looking bad, but still came down, so be careful out there!

[fcbbob15]

Had that happen to me years ago in Death Valley of all places. A Small campground at Panamint Springs. Not another tree for 100 miles. Branch broke off and destroyed the awning.

[astrnmrtom]

Yep, sometimes there's no warning our outside signs a tree is weak. One time I did an inspection of a large old big leaf maple next to one of our buildings. Up close I could see signs of rot where the giant main branches came together - aka crotch rot. Ok, you kids in the back, quit your snickering.

I lightly probed the trunk until I found a soft spot. I was able to easily push a 12 inch screwdriver up to the handle into the trunk below the crotch, only resistance was the bark. Suggested to the people in charge that we cut the tree down before it split in half fell on the building. Some of the main limbs were the size of small trees. The person in charge said no, it's a pretty old tree and it's been there a long time, so why kill it? It's been over ten years now and that old tree is still standing. If trees had tongues this one would stick it out whenever I came by. I've seen other perfectly healthy looking trees go over in an odd wind.

Older trees that grew up surrounded by other trees which were then cleared on one side can be more at risk. As trees grow they build their root systems to resist prevailing winds. This wind load can be affected by the surrounding trees. Beside the intertwining of root systems, when you remove surrounding trees and expose a mature tree to new loads to a root system that wasn't made for those loads, a perfectly healthy tree can go over. Sometimes you'll see where the root ball had massive roots on one side and hardly any on the other. Of course soil and root damage by clearing equipment can do it too.

We had an old tree go over next to our old house with just such a one sided root system. Happened in the middle of the night during a storm and we didn't hear a sound. I didn't realize until I go up in the morning and looked out the front window. For a second I couldn't figure out why I couldn't see the street. Went outside to see the tree laying in the front yard. It had fallen in the only place where it couldn't do damage - right down the gap between my house and the next door neighbor's. It was part of a bunch of trees left behind when the area was cleared for our development. That storms had winds coming from an unusual direction. That's all it took.

There's a place we camped years ago, a park notorious for constant strong winds. The park is full of huge old Poplars that loom over the sites. They were planted as windbreaks. I couldn't sleep at all those windy nights.

[153stars]

Clear day no wind. Seen cottonwood tree 30" in diameter drop on TT and smaller top branches cover pontoon 30' further beached on bank of lake. Crushed it like pop can. Owners were away. . Tree did lean toward the extra light from Lake. Only warning, 5 minutes earlier was small dead branch fell as I was talking to fellow camper. It was not large enough to damage anything but vent or awning unless hit exactly right.
I had just finished restoring 35' TT also had my 70 dual axle Scamper at camping club. While napping off swing shift . I heard what sounded like someone chopping down a tree with a sledge hammer then big whoosh. They must have fell that tree. Friends were shouting my name.They thought I was in popup a huge oak branch fell on popup . It looked like it was going to tip it over. Heavy rain was puddling in the crotch of tree for several weeks causing splitting. After using just a pruning saw for several hours ,I saved the popup with just some good sized dents at edge of roof. Some luck of the way it landed. They don't make them like that Scamper anymore. You can never tell what will cause a tree or branch to drop ,besides widow maker or storm.

[Dutch Star Don]

Pismo Coast Village about 4 years ago.....