Big burnt Eucs

[davidwyby]

Stumbled on these guys that got burnt. Gonna try to find the owner. The one is burnt thru the bottom, not much holding it up. Sketchy…

It would seem euc wood is not very fire resistant.I see plenty hollowed out by fire. Most other species of trees I see burnt have the foliage and smaller limbs burnt and the trunk intact.

 

[friedrich]

is there anything they would crush if they would fall over? they sure look beautiful..

 

[SeanKroll]

I thought i heard eucs are not particularly decay-resistant as they have short life spans, coming from high frequency wildfire ecosystems, so may be hollow due to decay, therefore burn up inside and out.

 

[davidwyby]

I thought i heard eucs are not particularly decay-resistant as they have short life spans, coming from high frequency wildfire ecosystems, so may be hollow due to decay, therefore burn up inside and out.

Yes, I don't know what they looked like before the burn.

@friedrich if someone was driving down that canal rd when the West wind blew and that burnt thru tree went with it's SE lean, they would have a real bad day...

 

[Bermy]

'I heard that...'
There are plenty of old eucs despite fire, trust me.
What doesn't help is closely repeated high intensity fires that interrupt the recovery cycle.

 

[SeanKroll]

Certainly lots of big eucs.

Does that seem to fit about their compartmentalization and growth rate?

Around here, the infrequent cold snap into the teens seems to be too much.

 

[gf beranek]

Through the later 1800s the Blue Gum Eucalyptus (E. globulus) was planted extensively across coastal northwestern California... and beyond.

Through my career I climbed, trimmed, wrecked and felled E. globulus. I am intimately familiar with the species.

In all that time I have never observed a rotten specimen, even laying on ground covered in duff for over 50 years.

The deep freeze of '73 (18 degrees for 3 days) burnt the upper structure of E. globulus across the region. The primary structure went unscathed.

There are so many more species of Eucalyptus in southern California I know nothing about.

They are fascinating trees. Thank you for sharing.

 

[davidwyby]

That’s about typical. I’m surrounded by about 800 square miles of 40 acre fields with a handful of trees here and there. When they fall, the trunk usually stays forever due to lack of $ spent on expertise and equipment to cut them up.

 

[davidwyby]

The story is euc was imported to make pilings and or RR ties because it is so durable. I also have never seen them rot. Never really thought about it, but I always assumed that it was because this is a desert. Nothing rots…it turns into splinters…well, softwoods do. Hardwoods get really hard…desert hardened Osage orange…wow. Or this:

 

[davidwyby]

I think @Jomo knows a bit about euc.
It’s beautiful wood…unfortunately, it is difficult to dry or cure without cracking and warping. Mesquite on the other hand is very stable.

 

[davidwyby]

Here are some trunks…excellent firewood if one can transport to the mountains where the market is.

There are several in a row here, precariously rooted. Farmer wants them gone due to the liability of them falling in the road. One dead one is ~6’DBH. Maybe for a tree/saw get together next winter…

 

[Bermy]

The big Euc branch that fell on the weekend was rotten in the middle at the butt. It probably was topped ages ago. Big ones have retained deadwood that becomes hollow and punky cavities that become habitat for critters

 

[SeanKroll]

Ace Tree Management videos have a lot of hollow ones.






I always appreciate correction and input.

 

[Nutball]

The story is euc was imported to make pilings and or RR ties because it is so durable. I also have never seen them rot. Never really thought about it, but I always assumed that it was because this is a desert. Nothing rots…it turns into splinters…well, softwoods do. Hardwoods get really hard…desert hardened Osage orange…wow. Or this:

But what does it sound like when a chainsaw hits it?

 

[gf beranek]

Don't set your rakers too deep.

From my experience a chain that cuts well in redwood will stick, bind and chatter in blue gum Euc.

 

[Trains]

yep, I tend to sharpen with little hook, ie keep the file up high on the tooth, makes a more durable cutting tooth, but still sharp, and round the leading edge of the rakers too when cutting dead dry euc.
Some euc will be very hard, twisty and feel like your cutting iron, and others are quite soft.

here is some carlton A3 3/8 semi chisel, I found that the husky roller guide gives less hook than using the basic file guide, yeah can file by hand, but after cutting, and getting tired, its easier to just use a guide.


and

Cutting dead sugar gum, its up there with grey and yellow box, makes redgum look like pine , splitting it requires a hydraulic spliter, and it tears more than splits, but burns like coal.
Find that a 660 with 25" is a good combo in that wood.

 

[Trains]

Stumbled on these guys that got burnt. Gonna try to find the owner. The one is burnt thru the bottom, not much holding it up. Sketchy…

It would seem euc wood is not very fire resistant.I see plenty hollowed out by fire. Most other species of trees I see burnt have the foliage and smaller limbs burnt and the trunk intact.
View attachment 121475View attachment 121476

During/ after fires, we usually clear those with a dozer etc, dosent take much to push them over, have had times when a telehandler manitou was propped up against a burning tree, and stuck between that and a burning trunk to cripple it to bring it down, not fun, or any good on chains for that matter .

 

[davidwyby]

Don't set your rakers too deep.

From my experience a chain that cuts well in redwood will stick, bind and chatter in blue gum Euc.

…but also not too shallow or the cutters will not bite, just skate and the saw will over rev. At least in the dry stuff which is mostly what I cut. Green is a pleasure when I get to cut it. .404 square is the best.

 

[flushcut]

The deep freeze of '73 (18 degrees for 3 days)

Deep freeze!? 18 degrees for tree days? Three whole days? Lol! -18 for three weeks or longer is a deep freeze. Sorry I know you are out in Cali and all just to my Wisco self 18 for three days is balmy at times. Coming out of an extended period of sub 0 temps 18 is a heat wave.

 

[Trains]

…but also not too shallow or the cutters will not bite, just skate and the saw will over rev. At least in the dry stuff which is mostly what I cut. Green is a pleasure when I get to cut it. .404 square is the best.

I use the progressive raker guides, and find the hard setting is quite enough for good bite, but not stalling the powerhead in dead euc, again, all depends on rainfall too, high rainfall, less dense, low rainfall, and your dealing with a rockwell hardness found on sugihara bars, or above .
yes, .404 is far more durable, a 20 or 25 on a 880 sized powerhead will get the job done, but for now, ive just used the 660 sized powerhead as an all rounder for what were currently cutting.
and just use large tonka toys to push over those base compromised trees.

 

[davidwyby]

…or just wait for the strong west wind that drops it from 115 to 99f…

this chunk had split off the side and I think was a lot of the reason the main base was hollow.

 

[flushcut]

Crispy!

 

[davidwyby]

Farmer was in my shop today. Looks like I might get a shot at the remaining dead ones...when the weather cools off in Nov., ha!

 

[gf beranek]

Quote "Deep freeze!? 18 degrees for tree days? Three whole days? Lol! -18 for three weeks or longer is a deep freeze. Sorry I know you are out in Cali and all just to my Wisco self 18 for three days is balmy at times. Coming out of an extended period of sub 0 temps 18 is a heat wave."

Ha! northern Cali on the immediate coast. 60 degrees F average temperature year-round. Last winter we had maybe 4 days below freezing. whoa!

Dropping below 20 degrees sustained for 3-4 days happens only once every 30 40 years. But it happens.

I recall 2 such freezes in my life and each event killed half of the introduced trees and shrubs regionally. Great for tree work. Devastating for urban landscapes. Native flora not a problem.

Yet another consequence of these periodic deep freezes is it breaks every water-pipe in the state every time. and pure pure chaos ensues.

I bear with it the best I can.

 

[Tree09]

Every time I'm in fl i do a double take when i see exposed pipes