Sad news, the Lake Quinault Cedar has fallen

[Roger_Barnett]

The Lake Quinault Redcedar, the world's largest, and the largest tree outside of California, has fallen. I visited it June 5 and it appears to have failed--to a 20 foot tall stump, sometime after July 7. See http://northcoastnews.com/…/quinault-big-cedar-has-fallen-t…

It's failure has been imminent for years, as the article states, and as my images show:

In the above 8mm fisheye image, the large opening can be seen. The below image was shot inside the tree and looking straight up. Lots of stalactite like wood formations, with no attachment to earth. The tree was clearly a shell, and bound to fail sooner or later. Only a tiny strip of live cambium supplied energy to the bit of live canopy... some of the foliage above was of the hemlock that leaned into the cedar.

 

[Roger_Barnett]

I read something about this sad but imminent event (but the poster didn't identify the tree as the Quinault cedar--for sure that is) on facebook a couple weeks ago, but was busy trying to get a lot of work done before leaving on a 10 day photo safari around Vancouver Island--- visiting Reg Coates, and looking for big trees, plus shooting anything exciting that I encountered. Just now home and have lots more photos to edit. I'm sure my three cameras clicked over 3000 times...thankfully, I''ve already deleted a bunch.... A fair number are up on my facebook and a few on my flickr site, with many more to come as time allows.

 

[Worthaug]

Sad, sad day :-(

Reed Wortley
CTSP #01739
ISA CA #SO-6953A

 

[guymayor]

Interesting about stalactite formation; it would be very interesting to dissect a few of those and check growth rings etc.

Even if they did not (yet?) connect to the earth, do you think they may have played a stabilizing or at least nutrient storage role?

Support measures might have bought it a lot of time, but there is also something to be said for letting nature take its course.

 

[Roger_Barnett]

Guy, It's hard to say, because the tree has been in decline for centuries, but I think the formations in question were simply remnants of a once intact core...and not the start of adventitious roots.

Also, I spotted, then forgot to photograph, a large tree in downtown Tofino (Vancouver Island) that had been sleeved with a giant band at appx 50-60 feet, from which four large gauge steel guy wires ran to earth...