Lightning/Tree pics needed

[treeseer]

Eric or anyone,

I'm in need of pics of lightning damage for a conference in February. I'd really like to see how others assess and mitigate the damage to keep the tree alive where feasible. But any pics of lightning damage would be good. If you want to you can put your ID at the bottom so you retain the copyright and get credit for it.

 

[Mr. Firewood]

a LARGE cottonwood infront of my house was struck not once but twice last summer and it blew half the bark off of it, want me to take sosme 7mp pics?

 

[treeseer]

Absolutely! 3mb is a good size pic, dunno what 7 mp means.

 

[l2edneck]

Ill search thru my photos,but its been quiet lately here.

 

[Ekka]

3mb is a good size pic, dunno what 7 mp means.

mp=megapixels, this is how cameras are rated.

But it is a jargon word and there is a lot more to cameras than meets the eye.

I found this sites explanations and advice fascinating, many myths exposed.

http://hannemyr.com/photo/pixels.html#qq05

 

[Ekka]

Guy

Oct/Nov2006 edition of Australian Arborage has an excellent write up from Kim D Coder about lightening.

He is a professor of community forestry and arboriculture at School of Forest Resources, University of Georgia, athens, Georgia.

Did you know it's the shockwave (accoustic wave) that is responsible for the bark getting blown off and cracks! Even offers suggestions for remedial work.

That video of the brushbox we did, the entire top of the tree was dead and no visible single impact point. He writes that of the top 20% of the tree is hit where the smaller branches/twigs leaves etc are you have a condition called flashover, the whole top gets fried and death is near certainty. wen the strike is below that 80% tree ht there's a better chance of survival as the charge stays contained and toward the ground, no flashover.

I found these on Google

http://hort.ufl.edu/woody/understandinglightning.htm

http://hort.ufl.edu/woody/stormdamagedtrees.htm

 

[treeseer]

"Oct/Nov2006 edition of Australian Arborage has an excellent write up from Kim D Coder about lightening."

Kim wrote a long ceu article in Arborist News http://www.isa-arbor.com/publications/arbnews/jun04/feature.aspx
so that may be a reprint. He's on the February program the first day speaking on that same topic of how the damage happens. I'm on the second day to talk about what can be done about it.

"Did you know it's the shockwave (accoustic wave) that is responsible for the bark getting blown off and cracks! Even offers suggestions for remedial work."

Yeah that possibility may be useful to consider when attempting to reattach bark. Hard to know or prove how much is due to sap boiling and how much is due to sound--which would be easier to repair?

" He writes that of the top 20% of the tree is hit where the smaller branches/twigs leaves etc are you have a condition called flashover, the whole top gets fried and death is near certainty. wen the strike is below that 80% tree ht there's a better chance of survival as the charge stays contained and toward the ground, no flashover."
I found these on Google"

I doubt that it's as cutanddried as that. I'm gonna reread those 10-yr old articles as well as the more recent stuff. Now, any pics or experience on repairing lightning damage?

 

[Ekka]

Here's 3, I left them big incase you want to muck around with them.

 

[treeseer]

Thanks Eric. What did you do with that tree, remove it?

 

[Ekka]

Haven't done a thing, just left a flyer for the people, they weren't home. Must have gone on holidays.

I would say that it's about 6months max this that was hit. When I first saw it I thought the wind just busted the top out. Then a few months later it just started browning off and the whole top area dropped dead.

The bottom portion is OK, if they wanted to keep it I think you could just cut it off above a good whirl of branches. It is in an awkward spot with like service wires to both houses through it. Bucket job so you can reach over wires and cut n' chuck past the wires, no lowering.

 

[SteveBullman]

obviously this one was a fell

 

[leweee]

red oak lightning stike damage

tree was hit 3yrs. ago. Large limb removed 2yrs. ago

 

[leweee]

norway spruce lightning strike

2 pics a few hours after.

 

[ggttp]

This pin oak had no apparent damage other than the root damage pictured here. The pics. were taken the morning after it happened. I couldn't believe that there was no other damage to the tree.

 

[treeseer]

This pin oak had no apparent damage other than the root damage pictured here. The pics. were taken the morning after it happened. I couldn't believe that there was no other damage to the tree.

Me neither. Key word is "apparent"--the bark on the stem may be detached and dead, but not look it. A tap with a rubber hammer can find those areas. Thanks all for posting these. I'll pm you if I want to use them, to get your names for attribution.

 

[a_lopa]

Sorry it took me a while Guy.

This ceadar was hit 3 years ago,a local "tree care"no idea guy inspected the tree with a pen put it in a cavity and said"has to go" they got me for a second opinion.

Im glad its lived or they may have thought i was as bad as him.LOL

Ive pounded him out of buisness.

 

[treeseer]

Thanks Jason.

What did you do with the tree?

When was the pic taken? Chance for a followup?

You'll have to send me your name so i make sure it's spelled right.

 

[bytehoven]

I have a friend who had a huge Oak hit infront of their house this fall. The tree is 40"+ at the base I'm guessing, and there is about a 6" wide strip of missing bark winding down one side.

He has already talked to a local arborist, and they are going to wait until the spring to see how the tree buds out. If there is significant damage to the roots, they may take the tree down.

I hope the tree was not damaged too badly because it's a beautiful tree.

I'll try to post a pic of the tree and the "zap" strip in the next few days.

 

[a_lopa]

Guy them pics are todays,ill take a pic when theres better light.the tree is in slow decline.

 

[tocold4u2]

lightning/tree

i had lightning hit 1 tree go through it , clip a second tree, and hit a 3 rd tree square, the 3 rd trr is a hickory , it hit it high and if i recall right either cracked it or knocked bark off all the way down the lenth of the tree almost to the trunk. the other 2 trees i removed over summer, the hickory i haven`t touched yet. i have another tree around that got wacked good too, i`ll see if i can get a pic:biggrinbounce2: