Gravity Wins!

This interesting accident was next to IL Highway 15 in Jefferson County, Illinois recently.  I could see as I drove by that the cutter had planned on the tree falling parallel to the fence, but the tree saw things differently and fell 90 degrees the wrong way.

A close look at the stump and the butt end of the tree reveals that the cutter left no hinge when he cut this tree, but he did make an opening in the direction he wanted the tree to fall, and he also angled his back cut, which people often do, thinking that the stump will somehow push the tree in the right direction.  You can see that the tree was severed except for some fibers in the middle, which pulled out of the butt log.  Those fibers are pulled over in the direction the tree fell when it let loose.

The cutter attached a rope to the tree to pull it in the right direction, so he probably recognized that the tree had weight the wrong way.  Ropes and cables are useful to bring a tree over when they are pulling 180 degrees to the lean, but if a tree wants to go 90 degrees to the side, they do no good at all.

At least there was plenty of room for the tree to fall without hurting anything.  As you put your chainsaw skills to use, and push your limits, remember to push those limits only where no harm can come from your plan falling apart. 

Links to posts about your falling plan and making trees go where you want are on the left side, just above the FTC disclosure.