Wait and See?

I recently had a call to look at a shade tree which had been struck by lightning. The homeowner wanted to know if the tree was going to die, and if it should be taken down right away. The tree is a very nice American elm, and it did take a good hit, which blew a hole a few feet away from the tree, indicating that the bolt did severe damage to one of the main roots. The tree still was green, and it has no targets. It can be dropped easily if it ever needs to be taken down, so the diagnosis was to leave it alone and see if it survives.

A few feet away from the house there was a large red maple. This tree was perfectly healthy, but it forked at about 12 feet up, with included bark, and one side was leaning right over the house; it was set up to smash the home if a big wind gust came out of the northwest. I recommended that they remove this tree as soon as possible, because it has great potential to kill.