it fell down

**sketch** · 07-29-2014, 09:19 AM

the tree on the edge of my front lawn. it must be 400-500 years old. it is large. and mostly dead. we spoke to the town about it a couple of weeks ago to get it removed, as it is technically on town property. they agreed to take it down on their dime.

so last night, i'm sitting on the computer, must have been somewhere between 930 and 10. all of a sudden, there's a low pitched....rumbling is the best way I can describe it. i started to think to myself, "holy shit that's some strong chain lightning right out front! i wonder if it hit the tree..." then my computer monitors (which are bolted to my desk) started shaking somewhat violently & a few things fell off of my bookshelf. it felt like an earthquake, as best i can describe it. the gears kept turning upstairs, "holy shit the tree."

MFW

it decided that it didn't want to wait any longer to come down.

opened up the front door to see this

then the police and fire department were over

i got some better photos from this morning.

to give some scale, my house is 66' from end to end:

dad for scale of the root end (the cross section is probably 4'x7'):

this branch in the front garden is probably close to 2' thick

about the same size:

**sketch** · 07-29-2014, 09:24 AM

where it broke/fell/tore shit up:

the holes underneath are probably 3-6' deep, depending on which side you look

this one goes ways down:

porch on the back side of the house:

with bonus impaled chair:

and yes, some branches made it into (and further than) the pool. this one is probably 40-50' behind the back edge of the house:

back deck

view of the roof from the back deck:

chimney is a bit fucked up

you're gonna need a bigger boat:

**sketch** · 07-29-2014, 09:27 AM

everyone is okay, no injuries. the roof has two confirmed holes in it and there are some cracks in the walls and in the edges of the ceiling by the chimney inside the addition. insurance people will be out soon to take a look at all of the damage and assess, etc.
some time last night was spent removing irreplaceables out of the affected rooms (family photo albums, old VHS home movies, etc.).

i'm exhausted.

**green-lantern** · 07-29-2014, 09:38 AM

Damn! that's a BIG ASS tree! So glad you guys are OK, that could easily killed someone.

Could you imagine sitting in that chair when that thing fell?

**FeaRpb** · 07-29-2014, 09:39 AM

That looks like some good wood to burn.

**sketch** · 07-29-2014, 09:46 AM

the pictures don't even really properly convey the scale or size of the fucking thing. i feel like it's the biggest tree i've ever seen on someone's property.

some of the wood might be keepable/burnable, but there's a lot rotted. will have to see what's leftover or if they'll cut any up and leave some for us.