Lightning Struck Oak

[Jere39]

I had two nice big Oaks hit by lightning last Spring. They were close enough together that it was likely one strike. And, close enough to my house that some electronic componentry in the garage was also damaged.
One of the trees had its bark blown off, the other had an 8" wide trench of bark and sap wood ripped from top to root. Fast forward to today, and I am planning the felling and would likely process as firewood. Unless I gain some guidance that the wood might be interesting to a saw mill.

Tree one, is the one the bark was stripped from. It is 102" circumference:



And, clear to the sky. It is in a tightly wooded area and will naturally want to fall on a couple surrounding trees, and a couple ornamentals at the edge of my lawn. Actually, there is no direction it won't damage living trees, it is one of the larger in the area:



Other tree is a little brother about 20 yards away and 92" circumference:



This is the one that was trenched, though now it is losing bark all around. It stands next to another much smaller dead oak that I will take down first. This one could actually reach my dog kennel, and in an extreme miscalculation might reach my garage. I'll throw a rope through a high crotch and steer it into a pretty narrow path in the woods to my left in this picture where it will not hit living trees. (After removing the smaller tree my left hand rests on):



Scout is not the least bit concerned about the kennel, he very rarely uses it, except when I am running saws, mowers, or other (EDIT: for some reason the software will not allow the common abbreviation of Outdoor Power Equipment). And he will not be using it when I take this one down.

When I do (and I don't rush these things), I'll have the GoPro recording my success.

 

[Ronaldo]

Those are some beauty's. Best of luck with the falling. Look like Red Oak? So, easy splitting with the Fiskars.....

 

[Marley5]

Likely a winter's worth of firewood in those 2 Oaks, just be safe and post back how it goes.

 

[Del_]

Keep us posted!

 

[stihlguy]

I was told a long time ago that lightning struck trees don't burn for firewood?????!!!!! Never had a chance to prove or disprove it.

 

[buzz sawyer]

I've heard the lightning struck trees often splinter from the heat of the strike boiling the sap. I guess you could tell once you get it down. If so, it may crack apart when it hits the ground. I don't know why it wouldn't make good firewood. Good luck and be safe!

 

[Jere39]

Sunny Day today, so I took down the smaller oak that is in the line of fall for the second tree. It didn't go perfectly, it hung up briefly about a third of the way down. So, I had to cut deeper than I like to relieve some of the hinge hold.



Fell safely, and is on the ground where I'll work it into firewood before either of the lightning trees.

 

[cuinrearview]

Nice work. Nice Dolly too

 

[MechanicMatt]

That’s what I was thinking, Nice Dolmar. Now that it’s down let that 510 have at it.

 

[Jere39]

Thanks guys. I do not have a vast collection of saws, and don't really have much handle time on many brands. So, this 510 was my first firewood saw and with the 18" bar it is a great worker. But, some of my trees run a little big for it, so I bought a 6100 with a 20" bar, and bought an extra 24" bar. I love it, it eats oak. Then, I got a chance for some bucket list work in a bucket truck to do some trimming of several trees at our church, so I added a nice 421 with a 16" bar. It is a sweet saw for limbing. So, I'm sure I could get along with the 6100 and the 421, but my old friend the 510 felt just right for these couple trees.

 

[farmer steve]

I was told a long time ago that lightning struck trees don't burn for firewood?????!!!!! Never had a chance to prove or disprove it.

Have burnt a few over the years without any problem. I had heard that too.

 

[stihlguy]

Sunny Day today, so I took down the smaller oak that is in the line of fall for the second tree. It didn't go perfectly, it hung up briefly about a third of the way down. So, I had to cut deeper than I like to relieve some of the hinge hold.



Fell safely, and is on the ground where I'll work it into firewood before either of the lightning trees.

View attachment 794821

Not being critical, nice fall, but if you get the chance to take a chain saw safety course in your area, do it. After 40 some yrs. of cutting wood, I took it and learned a lot.

 

[cuinrearview]

Not being critical, nice fall, but if you get the chance to take a chain saw safety course in your area, do it. After 40 some yrs. of cutting wood, I took it and learned a lot.

That's a Stihl thing. Dolly guys don't need it

 

[loadthestove]

About two years ago I took down a white oak the was hit by lightning,the tree stood for abour four months before we cut it down.
when it hit the ground the top mostly flew into a million pieces but the butt log and center cut werent hurt other than a black streak down the outside.
The tree worked fine as fire wood.

 

[unclemoustache]

Not being critical, nice fall, but if you get the chance to take a chain saw safety course in your area, do it. After 40 some yrs. of cutting wood, I took it and learned a lot.

So what did you see wrong? I didn't notice anything. He had proper PPE (except chaps), he was very alert and aware of everything, he cut a perfect notch, a perfect back cut, a proper escape route, etc. He obviously knows what he's doing.

Going back for a second cut was risky, but when it's hung up, there's always a risk, and he seemed to know exactly what to do to fix it.


Anyway, good work to the op. Man, I'm missing my saws. Haven't cut anything for months! I've got the itch, but fortunately my chiropractor wants a couple trees taken down.

 

[MechanicMatt]

I’m no pro @unclemoustache but you don’t think that back cut was a tad low? Left no hinge.... but I’ve screwed up plenty of trees and thank the good lord he got me outta those jams every time. Only one time a tree twisted like his and i ran leaving my 362 to get some battle damage. I too am not trying to be critical, trying to learn everyday. That back cut was ok?? Honestly, always liked mine a little higher

 

[Skeans]

I’m no pro @unclemoustache but you don’t think that back cut was a tad low? Left no hinge.... but I’ve screwed up plenty of trees and thank the good lord he got me outta those jams every time. Only one time a tree twisted like his and i ran leaving my 362 to get some battle damage. I too am not trying to be critical, trying to learn everyday. That back cut was ok?? Honestly, always liked mine a little higher

There’s times and places your back cut will be lower then your face such as if slipping a tree back off the stump. One thing I’d say there’s also time you’ll cut the hinge off or do a Dutchman or full faced Dutchman to pop a tree off the stump or swing a tree. The only thing I’d say wrong with the back cut is there’s no reason to jump to the other side of the tree in a situation like this I’m use to cutting from one side as much as possible. Possibly a humboldt face would of actually helped in this situation since it’ll push off the stump differently as well as be less likely to come back at you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MechanicMatt]

Hmmm got me thinking a bit now @Skeans gonna have to start googling to learn more. I’m just a firewood hack and always trying to learn more.

 

[esshup]

Good work. I have a setup similar but slightly different, 5100 w/18" bar, and a 7900 with a 24" bar and a Reduced Weight 32" bar for the bigger stuff. The 5100 was changed to take the same chain as the 7900. I run both saws on LL100 gas.

 

[uniballer]

So what did you see wrong?

The video was not at the best angle to see what actually happened, but it seemed to me that the fall stalled when the notch closed. An open-faced notch of 70°-90° would probably have allowed the tree to fall without stalling, and would have steered the trunk almost all the way to the ground without tumbling at the end.

Another way to look at the situation is that the hinge was too thick for the size of the notch, so the tree wasn't going fast enough to break the hinge when the notch closed.