Caught a hidden decay pocket that should have killed this oak years ago

Pulled up for a routine trim on a big red oak in Dayton yesterday. Homeowner just wanted clearance near the roof. I noticed a small wound scar and jabbed it with my probe. Found a hollow cavity 4 feet long inside the main trunk. The tree had a 6 inch ring of live wood holding up 60 feet of canopy. That stat keeps me up at night. Has anyone else found something this dangerous that looked fine from the outside?

2 comments

2 Comments

taylor17417d ago

Honestly man, I used to think most of those hidden decay pockets were overblown. I'd see a healthy looking oak and figure it was fine, call it a day. Then two years back I had a 50 foot white oak that looked perfect from the driveway. Took a closer gander near the base and found a gap you could park a compact car in, like 3 feet across. Scariest thing is how long they can stand on basically nothing. That 6 inch ring you found is insane, a strong breeze could have turned that whole job into a nightmare.

fionaa3517d ago

Taylor174 beat me to it, I'd have been the guy admiring that tree from a distance too.