Any suggestions how to get this tree on the ground safely?

[ning]

If you had three or four come-alongs I wonder if you could pull a couple of the other trees slightly to the side and then pull the leaner off of them?
To be honest though I probably wouldn't want to be in its vicinity for a while. Maybe rope off the area and put pink flags on the rope so you don't accidentally get in the wrong zone later.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Just put an old tire right here filled with used motor oil and some gas. Light 'er up and watch the fun.
Invite everyone over...chairs, popcorn & drinks.

 

[bcp]

I would clear an escape route, then nibble away at the tension side with my pole saw fully extended.

Bruce

 

[2manyrocks]

Must be a veryyyyyyyyyyyy long pole saw.

 

[CalG]

Just put an old tire right here filled with used motor oil and some gas. Light 'er up and watch the fun.
Invite everyone over...chairs, popcorn & drinks.View attachment 816269

I was thinking tannerite,

then, when the WOW-ing and OMG's are done, return to the back porch and have a BBQ.

 

[redman135]

Possible alternative: 20 ton digger to smash the butt off and then drag the head off the other trees. There will be some damage to the other trees.
Is htere room to get this size of digger to site?

 

[oosik]

I know it's a nagging concern for you. I have a couple BIG, leaning Ponderosa pines. Dead from the Pine bark beetle. I'd like to get them down also. But I've had experience with trees like this - backdrafting, when I cut them down. Fortunately - I was not standing directly behind the tree. I would have been cut in half.

I will take the easy way on these pines. Let Mother Nature and time bring these down.

 

[timbatrader]

A small tractor doesn't have much pull in a direct line but if you can get a long steel cable and a number of snatch blocks or pullys you can multiply that buy say four then you have enough grunt. To. Pull over the small tree and pull the bigger one down to a safe position
I find my set of pulleys and a couple of cables invaluable for such things

 

[IXLR8]

A couple hundred bucks is a helluva lot cheaper than you getting hurt or killed in my book. I quit cutting storm damages wood in our woodlot a long time ago.

I have several of these on my property, local arborists want about $4K each to take them down. I'm going to let mother nature deal with them for now as they are not threatening anything.

 

[dougtrr2]

Any chance of getting a bucket truck or lift near the top to release it from the other trees?

Doug in SW IA

 

[JJT]

Can you drop another tree on the mess? Hoping that will be enough to get everything to the ground. I've seen it work, sometimes it takes two or three tries.....

 

[2manyrocks]

The split trunk looks just strong enough that I suspect dropping more trees might make a bigger situation.

 

[ning]

The split trunk looks just strong enough that I suspect dropping more trees might make a bigger situation.

but just think of the eventual bonfire to clean up the mess after dropping a few more on there! that's like a 70' tall teepee of kindling!

 

[dfkrug]

Just put an old tire right here filled with used motor oil and some gas. Light 'er up and watch the fun.

I like this solution, tho I think just to use a wood fire. In burn season. Even if burning up the base does not cause the tree to fall, you can detach the base this way, then use the tractor to pull it until it does.

This assumes you are not at high risk of starting a forest fire.

I do a lot of cable/snatch block tree work on my property.

 

[Dftodd]

but just think of the eventual bonfire to clean up the mess after dropping a few more on there! that's like a 70' tall teepee of kindling!

That reminds me of a fireworks contest we had between my buddies father in law and his sister in law. They had lake houses on opposite sides of the cove.

Whomever had the best display got a bottle of wine and bragging rights.

They sent off this pretty spectacular grand finale.

We were down to one measly little bottle rocket and weren't about to admit defeat.

Buddy lit the bottle rocket and it flew into a dead pine tree

That old pine tree went up in spectacular fashion.

After we grabbed garden hoses from some neighbors and managed to keep the fire from spreading we saw a light flash a few times with them signaling defeat

A few minutes later we heard a boat start up and they came over with the bottle of wine

 

[MotorSeven]

A big dozer could have it on the ground in a hour by digging out around the roots.

I have a large rotten tree that snapped off about 40' up, came down and stuck in a fork, then teeter tottered heavy end down right over our walking trail about 8' off the ground. Like the suggestions here, I left it alone and waited for Mother Nature to make a move. After almost a year, we had some high winds w/T-storms last week. Walking the dogs I found that another tree, well over 100' tall had blown over at the root ball. You betcha...., it came down right over that fork and hung up on it just like the O/P's tree, forcing the teeter totter section 30' up off the ground now.......what are the odds? And what a mess!

 

[drumminj]

Any chance of getting a bucket truck or lift near the top to release it from the other trees?

They could get to part of the crown to free up one of the larger branches, but there are 2-3 others I don't think they could safely get to (I imagine depending how the tree rotated as it freed up, anyone in the bucket would be at risk).

I don't like wasting people's time, but I'd be curious to have an arborist out to quote taking it down just to hear their thoughts/approach. But I'm guessing the quote will be higher than its worth to us.

 

[2manyrocks]

Sometimes the guys who come out to give quotes are the owners or salesmen for their company, but they have employees are the ones who'll do the actual work. So they may or may not say much more than what their bid will be.

If there is room to get a lift truck, some would start cutting from the top to disentangle the trees so the damaged tree will fall. Or it could be a combined approach. They might cut some of the tangles loose, but not enough for the tree to actually fall until they rope it with a compact track loader and can then pull it down from a safe distance.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Here's the solution. A simple motor drive reciprocating mechanism with a bow saw on it. Start it...walk away. 100% safe!

 

[Rockbadchild]

Very hard to make a conclusion from the pictures... to go in and assess it myself and cutting it, is different then telling someone how to from a picture.

Also seem like term widow maker gets thrown around to every crooked tree (most of them are not) ... not saying this one is not one of them but in my opinion it is not. Where I am from the term widow maker get used for unpredictable tree like dry/rotten tree, type of tree that prematurely break in half while fallen . If you can likely predict what it will do it is not a widow maker, it doesn't mean it is not dangerous it only means you can adjust yourself in consequence and mitigate the hazard.