trees being set on fire

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Base

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recently i have had to fell two large mature trees one ash and one sycmore, because someone felt the need to set them on fire they were both hollow so burnt from the inside out, i was wondering if anyone gets many call outs for this the last one i attemted to save by cutting a hole so water could be sprayed but being a multi stem it was to far gone and i fire brigade requested it felled as i appreciate they only want to attend a fire once, so they have to be 100% sure its out when they leave, has anyone else's services here been called upon to deal with a situation like this. and did you attempt to save the tree if so how?

acts like these really irratate me not only does it seem to happen on sundays but these trees have been growing for a long time offer good habitat and amenity value i really cant understand why someone would want todo this....... though everytime i attend these incidents people always ask why do they do it.....the only reply i can come up with is "i am a tree surgeon not a physcologist" :)
 
It really depends on the severity of the fire, the tree species, and the age. Fire in the Shawnee National Forest out here is natural, atleast it used to be. Oak/Hickory are structured to withstand low surface fires. Sycamore is not suited very well for fire, not so sure on ash.

I hear you on not being a psychologist :)
 
Originally posted by Base
i really cant understand why someone would want todo this
Drunk or bored or both, maybe. Dan Treeco ground a big shumard stump in gainesville. It had a burnt hollow full of beer cans and bottles.

As far as keeping a tree alive that's been burned, same as with any other tree with a cavity--measure the sound wood, act to lessen risk, or cut it down if there is no way to lower the risk to a level acceptable to the owner.

An open cavity can be closed with wire mesh etc to prevent vandalism.
 
I think Guy has it right. One of my good buddies says you can explain all sorts of bizarre behavior with the phrase "young men and too much alcohol"...and I bet that's the case with this :rolleyes: .
 
Newfie would know more than me on this subject, but a little over a year ago there was a riot up at UMASS. Something like 2,000 people involved... pretty much all drunken college kids. In the process of their riot, they managed to set a 40' tall pine tree on fire with the help of a couch and various other "kindling" materials. What ever happened to that tree is not something I know about.
 
I didn't set no stinkin trees on fire. I have tried to put them out like they were on fire a few times.:D

I would never throw a couch on a tree. Couches were always reserved for police cruisers.:p
 
If my memory serves me correctly, they used street signs, rocks, bottles, etc for the police cars. But that is getting off the topic. ;)
 
Looks like an old cavity with a lot of strong woundwood closing it.

What's that white foamy stuff--fire suppressant?
 
I assume the foamy stuff is just some kind of surfactant to make the water "more effective".

It would be good to find out if it has any toxicity since the critical root zone was obviously drenched with it. ;)
 
cypress

in the evenings i drive for a takeaway pizza company based in a hut. driving through a council estate i came accross a cypress on fire.....would have stayed to watch but i was running late with a delivery round the corner. when i returned it was out. only a small thing about 15 foot. made me laugh and want to continue my laylandii scourge

jamie
 
tree/fire

Two, both had to come down. When most of the beekeepers around here lost their bees to the beemites, you'd find some of them out in the woods smoking the beetrees to get new bees for their hives. While you can smoke the bees first to calm them down the guy I caught was filling the hollow with newspaper and lighting it. He should have wetted the paper down first to get it to smoke more. He gets the bees and leaves and that night the tree goes up from the smoldering embers left in the hollow. Lucky he didn't set the woods on fire, lost the tree though. Had a chat with him and he takes a smoke can with him now. His brain must have been in nuetral.
 
I took care of a Weeping Willow once in WI. It was right on the water (house on the lake) and there was a shoreline bonfire one night. Well, the flames got a bit too high and eventually had their way with the above leaves and limbs.

I got there about a week after the fact. About 25% of the tree was burned. They said it put itself out (they couldn't reach with the hose). The homeowner and my boss wanted to cut out the brown and black stuff, which could have been accomplished by cutting off four big branches, each about 1' in diameter. I offered this alternative: I climb tree and seek out and remove any limbs that seem to be obviously burnt/dried passed the point of no return. This would only remove about 20% of the smaller limbs, all being done with the silky, most being way less than 2" in diameter. Then we give the tree one year to see if it would "come back."

The boss sorta didn't like the idea because he was in a rush. But when I explained that it'd cost more to the client to do it my way, the boss was happy. Then when I explained to the client that it'd cost more, but the tree would be way happier, he too was happy.

So in the end I got to do what made me, the tree, my boss, and the client happy.

This was in the spring and by the end of summer you could barely tell the fire ever happened.

They moved the fire-pit further downshore to a big opening in the sand.

love
nick
 
Originally posted by NickfromWI
I got to do what made me, the tree, my boss, and the client happy.
It's amazing how often this is the case, when there is determined arboreal advocacy, and a little thought.
 
I once had to remove and replant about 50 feet of cedar hedge that some kids had lit on fire for licks. Was quite the blaze as it also melted all the siding and window frames on the adjacent house in addition to charring the soffits. Luckily the FD got there and put it out before the whole thing went up in smoke. Messy job.
 
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