death by tree branch

[DayDreamer]

death by tree branch

"Robertson and three other people were cutting down a tree, with Robertson driving a tractor attached to the tree, trying to control where the tree landed. When the tree fell, it broke a branch off another tree, with the branch hitting Robertson in the head."

- The Capital Times, Madison WI

A good reminder to not get over confident with your equipment and plan for the worst.

[CurlyDave]

I have a hard time visualizing how this accident could happen unless the rope/chain was way too short.

Also, I do not understand why he would be pulling the tree toward another tree. I would have been guiding it toward a clear area.

[AndyMA]

Originally Posted by CurlyDave

I have a hard time visualizing how this accident could happen unless the rope/chain was way too short.

Also, I do not understand why he would be pulling the tree toward another tree. I would have been guiding it toward a clear area.

Having had many branches come from all over the place while felling trees this is understandable to me.

Sometimes just the shake of the ground will drop broken or dead limbs.

Andy

[Treemonkey1000]

He wasn't pulling it toward another tree. It says he was trying to direct it's fall. It must have clipped another tree on the way down. That sent the branch at him apparently. Even branches can go a long way. I had put a rope up in one tree and then put a lot of tension on it with a truck parked about 150' away. The homeowner was watching me do the cut standing about 10' away from me. This was about a 100' fir tree. As I started doing the back cut I told him to step behind a tree a little further back. When I did the back cut and the tree went over it spun just a little. When it did it hit another large tree. That snapped off about 12' of the top which was about 6" thick. That top flipped all of the way back and stuck butt first into the ground where the homeowner had been standing.. Scared him a little bit. I can see how the branch may have gotten that guy. It is sad that just a little deviation in the fall caused that devastation.

[Champy]

Originally Posted by CurlyDave

I have a hard time visualizing how this accident could happen unless the rope/chain was way too short.

Also, I do not understand why he would be pulling the tree toward another tree. I would have been guiding it toward a clear area.

He was probably using the other tree with a snag line to pull or direct the falling tree to the preferred landing spot. Possible that it either hit the tree or his anchor limb snap off.

[Henro]

A falling branch or even a tree has been a worry of mine. My solution was to weld up a "head protector" and guard for the tractor hood.

This has worked a couple time to keep something from hitting my noggin...glad I did this...does not get in the way at all as it tapers narrow towards the front and slopes down towards the front as well, so nothing catches on it.

An added benefit is that if I put a cloth on it in summer, I get shade as well.

[ccdck20hst]

Fate and luck play a role in these matters. Years ago I was walking in the woods and passed by a dead rotted tree,trunk perhaps twenty-five feet high and ten inches in diameter. After I got about fifty feet past it, with my back to it, the tree fell and crashed to the ground scarring the heck out of me. A year or so ago a neighbor was tring to take a large (eight inches thick fifteen feet long) dead branch off a tree and I offered to get my tractor to assist in pulling or breaking the limb off the tree. Another neighbor got his old rust bucket Chevy Blazer and a rope. He attached the rope to the Blazer and a kid went up the tree and tied the rope to the limb. I carefuly stood about thirty feet away and watched as he tried to pull and break the limb off the tree. It did not want to break off and as he backed up the Blazer trying to break it off I stupidly took about ten steps toward the Blazer to talk to the driver and at that moment the limb broke of violently in turning breaking off a piece of another limb about five or six feet long and six inches thick. That piece flew over my head by several feet and would have hit me for sure if I had not stepped toward the tree! I was lucky it did not hit me and from that experience I shy away from even thinking of using my tractor to pull any limbs off trees.

[wvtechs]

This demonstrates just how dangerous cutting trees down (especially large ones) can be.

Recently, while clearing a section of my property I cut down a large poplar tree that I estimated to be about 70 feet tall and was about 3 feet across the trunk. The tree was situated close to several other large trees and a building so it needed to be directed in a specific direction to avoid hitting any obstacles or snagging in another tree. Snags are the most dangerous of all and are to be avoided at all costs.

To get the desired results and avoid injury or damage, I planned my escape route then attached a hand winch cable in the top of the tree using the trunk of another tree as a deadman and tightened the winch just enough to apply pressure in the right direction to make the fall more predictable.

I then proceeded to cut an open faced notch that faced the desired direction of fall and cut through the back side only enough to allow wedges to be inserted. The wedges prevent the tree from squatting down on the saw during the initial cutting and are then used to send the tree on it's way when a desired hinge thickness is reached. The hinge is a section of wood that is left to ensure that the tree goes where you want it to.

I then proceeded to drive the wedges deeper while carefully watching the top of the tree for signs (movement in the direction of travel) that it was about to go over. Cracking sounds are usually heard as well. When I was sure the tree was committed to going over, I backed away at a 45 degree angle (escape route) and cried "timber" to alert that the tree was falling.

My father-in-law had offered to use his tractor to anchor (pull) the tree but I refused because I knew it was too dangerous and opted to use the hand winch instead. Luckily I had too, because after it was all over, I realized that during the last moments of the fall, when the tree hit the ground, it had snapped the winch cable and wrapped it around the anchor tree leaving several prominent scars. Had that been a person, who knows the damage it could have caused.

One should never even think about cutting down a tree unless they know what they are doing. Accidents can happen in a flash, even to people with experience.

[Mighty Dodge]

Happened to me about 20 years ago. My dad and I were felling a big oak in the woods. When it fell it broke a limb off of a near by tree glancing my forehead. I was watching the tree I cut fall when suddenly I was on the ground not knowing how I got there. Had a good sized knot for a week or so. I was very lucky that day.

M.D.

[RoyJackson]

When I was in rehab (had a stroke which paralyzed my right side for a few weeks), my room mate was the victim of a branch hitting him in the back of his neck.
He had been working with his son clearing out an area. He never saw the limb coming, so no time to take evasive action.
He had use of one arm and was in a wheel chair...he was not going to get any better.

Me, I limp and have some problems with my right hand gripping...and some internal problems...but I walk and talk and still move with my own two feet. That's a lot better then the alternative.