[4Crawler]

Massive fir tree fell just past the steel bridge at the start of the Stevens Canyon Trail, west of Cupertino, Sunday afternoon. This is just before the Open Space preserve boundary, taking out power and phone lines. I heard the sound of the breaking lines transmit down the power line (sounded like a bullet flying by overhead) as I got to the gate at the end of Stevens Canyon Road, about 1 minute before getting to this point. Had I not stopped for a short break on the way up the canyon, I might have been riding here when that came down!

Local resident came up trying to find out what took out their power, so I suspect these lines were still live at the time. Why the heck PG&E never disconnected power up here is beyond me. The cabins these served up here were removed around 2014. I don't think there's any other dwellings up this way.

On the way down the paved road, passed by 2 county park ranger trucks and a PG&E service truck heading up.

 

[Fredrico]

Wow, what good luck! Fallen tree stories? Here's mine.

Back in the '80s I was riding along Beach Drive in Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC. Suddenly, I heard a large crash right behind me. It shook the pavement. A big oak tree had just fallen over onto the road about a half block behind, as if when I passed, the tree decided to fall. It covered the road. The root was six feet high. I'd just escaped being squashed like a bug by 5 seconds. Fortunately there were no other people on the road. Recent rain had softened the ground. The roots couldn't hold. I felt truly blessed let me tell ya!

 

[shrubs]

Glad you were not in that mess. I love how when we ride we get to see so many good/bad situations.

 

[tlg]

A month ago a friend of mine had a tree fall on him while mowing. Skull fractured in 3 places. He was alone in a field and had to walk home 1/4 mi. to get help. He's incredibly lucky to be alive.
The astronomical odds to be at the exact place in time to have a tree fall on you... but they aren't zero.

 

[Oxtox]

a couple of years ago, I was picking up leaves from my neighbor's giant magnolia tree...heard a distinctive loud CRACK. looked up and down the street for the source of the noise, didn't see anything and took a step towards the next pile of leaves when a massive dark object passed immediately in front of my face.

the monster tree branch that almost took me out must have weighed several hundred pounds. would have squashed me like a bug if I'd been two feet further towards its impact point.

 

[Fredrico]

a couple of years ago, I was picking up leaves from my neighbor's giant magnolia tree...heard a distinctive loud CRACK. looked up and down the street for the source of the noise, didn't see anything and took a step towards the next pile of leaves when a massive dark object passed immediately in front of my face.

the monster tree branch that almost took me out must have weighed several hundred pounds. would have squashed me like a bug if I'd been two feet further towards its impact point.

Did you take a break and have a few beers after that brush with death?

There was an old tree outside the apartment building that was half gone literally, dead limbs up the down land side, leaves on the up land side. It was hovering over the edge of a 4 foot drop, tenaciously held by roots on the up side only. A heavy wind could have toppled it over onto the building. The tree must have been 80 years old. The landlord got a crew to cut it down. A several hundred pound limb fell off another tree in the front yard, so Mexican pros cut it down, too. Tenants could have a card game on the top of the root left in the ground.

Every time a rain storm passes through, a couple of these big old trees finally fall. They're beloved in DC, a city of houses pretty much over its whole history. Very had to asses when the tree in the yard is ready give it up. Those big trees so nicely shade in the hot summer and break the cold breezes in winter. Residents don't want to give them up.

 

[shrubs]

Tree fell on my daughters car, overnight storm, condo complex, all outdoor parking. Lots of damage to her car.

In short, as they say, “a goat rope”. Condo maintenance took all day to remove the tree. Only after the HOA declared no responsibility-on paper, for any event happening to a parked car-ie including removing tree off her car.

Car insurance, after we got an independent estimate before calling them, was all about totaling the car. We ended up selling the car “as is” for way more than what insurance would pay out. The damage was mostly cosmetic to the outside. The strong point was from a mechanical aspect was the car was great-new tires, ABS fixed, new battery, perfect a/c clean interior, ran perfectly.

Took 7 months for to get the new car she decided to buy to be delivered. Used cars were way overpriced and never passed our mechanics inspection.

 

[4Crawler]

Wow, what good luck! Fallen tree stories? Here's mine.

Back in the '80s I was riding along Beach Drive in Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC. Suddenly, I heard a large crash right behind me. It shook the pavement. A big oak tree had just fallen over onto the road about a half block behind, as if when I passed, the tree decided to fall. It covered the road. The root was six feet high. I'd just escaped being squashed like a bug by 5 seconds. Fortunately there were no other people on the road. Recent rain had softened the ground. The roots couldn't hold. I felt truly blessed let me tell ya!

That's a close one, for sure.

I decided not to push my luck on this day and turned around and headed back down the pavement. Not sure why this tree came down, there was a light breeze but nothing out of the ordinary.

I've bailed on rides up in the mtns. many times due to high winds, like this time:

While I was hiking in that more sheltered canyon, I heard one thunderous crash, but never saw where that was. The next week riding farther up, there were signs of several blow downs along the trail.

 

[Fredrico]

Could those dead trees be the consequence of drought? Lots of dry underbrush like that is what fuels those wildfires. Trees cracking overhead would sure spook you, wouldn't it?

 

[4Crawler]

Yes, some of the trees dying of drought but many of the oaks are victims of "Sudden Oak Death" (SOD) which is caused by Phytophthora ramorum, a water mold pathogen . Likely this pathogen has been around for millions of years and in pre-contact days, the local Ohlone peoples maintained the local forests by thinning, controlled burns, etc. They kept out host species like the California Bay Laurel and this limited the spread of this pathogen that needs contact in the soil to spread. Acorns were a major food source, so keeping competitive species away from oak trees made them more productive, likewise keeping the forest floor thinned out made hunting more productive as well.

However, in modern times, almost nothing is allowed to be done in the forests. Controlled burns are non-existant, removing wood from an SOD afflicted area is akin to transporting nuclear waste with the permits involved, so nothing is ever removed. If a land owner tries to do something like that now, some group will "discover" a threatened species of some sort that will be endangered by the project. Even though that same species survived millenia of the same sort of activity being done by the native population.

I was back up to this area yesterday and all the fallen trees have been cut up and shoved to the side of the road. Every year, more dead wood piles up on the forest floor, all in the name of "protecting the forest".

 

[Fredrico]

Yes, some of the trees dying of drought but many of the oaks are victims of "Sudden Oak Death" (SOD) which is caused by Phytophthora ramorum, a water mold pathogen . Likely this pathogen has been around for millions of years and in pre-contact days, the local Ohlone peoples maintained the local forests by thinning, controlled burns, etc. They kept out host species like the California Bay Laurel and this limited the spread of this pathogen that needs contact in the soil to spread. Acorns were a major food source, so keeping competitive species away from oak trees made them more productive, likewise keeping the forest floor thinned out made hunting more productive as well.

However, in modern times, almost nothing is allowed to be done in the forests. Controlled burns are non-existant, removing wood from an SOD afflicted area is akin to transporting nuclear waste with the permits involved, so nothing is ever removed. If a land owner tries to do something like that now, some group will "discover" a threatened species of some sort that will be endangered by the project. Even though that same species survived millenia of the same sort of activity being done by the native population.

I was back up to this area yesterday and all the fallen trees have been cut up and shoved to the side of the road. Every year, more dead wood piles up on the forest floor, all in the name of "protecting the forest".

Wow, very ironic! Critics, Trump being one, have asserted thinning out the forests, including controlled burns, would be the way to prevent these huge wildfires decimating so much of western states. They're met with stern denials by guilt ridden religious ecologists awaiting the end times.

 

[4Crawler]

Yes, so true.

Here's a recent study on indigenous forest management by USGS:

Indigenous management helped shape northern California forests for over 1000 years | U.S. Geological Survey

This article is part of the Spring 2022 issue of the Earth Science Matters Newsletter.

www.usgs.gov

"Indigenous burning practices coupled with lightning-induced fires kept forest carbon low, at approximately half of what it is today, and kept forests more open and less dense. Forest management and intentional ignitions also resulted in low forest fuel levels that allowed local Indigenous people to produce food and basketry materials, clear trails, reduce pests, and support ceremonial practices for generations."

At least the folks running the local Open Space District are starting to see the light:

Wildland Fire Resiliency

Wildland fire prevention, preparation and response are part of Midpen's ongoing land stewardship. We reduce wildland fire severity and risk in our region by managing vegetation in the preserves with a focus on ecological health and wildland fire resilience, in alignment with our mission and...

www.openspace.org

But this is after 50 years of doing nothing and the 50 years of accumulated dead wood that has resulted. Will be interesting to see if they can actually start doing something to reduce the risk of fires.

 

[Fredrico]

Good reading! Thanks for posting.