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On vacation at Mammoth Mountain, I’m getting to watch from our rented condo a man cut down a large pine tree in six foot sections. It’s in the middle of a bunch of houses so he can’t fell the whole tree at once. It’s interesting to watch. Looks like incredibly hard work.

Why was it being cut down?

jsburger wrote: ↑Thu Jul 15, 2021 5:51 pm Why was it being cut down?

Because all the limbs fell off

because cutting up is more dangerous.

=)

b

Excellent setup!
I have no idea, was just enjoying watching the process of safely cutting with a chainsaw while tied to the tree they were cutting. Also, watching others work while I’m on vacation made me a little more grateful for my time off.

JPG and b,

Thanks for the chuckles.

Seriously though, it could be that they are trying to create more defensible space around the structure close to it. With the increasing number and severity of wild fires in the west the last few years it is a good idea. Although Mammoth Mountain which is east of San Francisco gets snow over the winter it is not immune to wild fires. As John can probably tell you because of all the smoke coming his way we are already seeing fire conditions that normally aren't seen until later in the summer. Last year was a very bad year for wild fires on the West Coast and this year is looking like it could be worse.

All joking aside - they may be taking down that tall stand in its entirety, one at a time for fire/safety concerns. Its not been good out west in recent history. Meanwhile, in northern Europe a friend of mine tells me the river near Aachen, DE is running 10 times its normal volume flow rate. What a mess. It wont be long before we wished we had found better ways to capture/handle freshwater overflow when we had it.

Tree climbing is certainly is a young man's job !

b

chapmanruss wrote: ↑Fri Jul 16, 2021 12:04 pm JPG and b,

Thanks for the chuckles.

Seriously though, it could be that they are trying to create more defensible space around the structure close to it. With the increasing number and severity of wild fires in the west the last few years it is a good idea. Although Mammoth Mountain which is east of San Francisco gets snow over the winter it is not immune to wild fires. As John can probably tell you because of all the smoke coming his way we are already seeing fire conditions that normally aren't seen until later in the summer. Last year was a very bad year for wild fires on the West Coast and this year is looking like it could be worse.

Yes, it has been pretty smokey the last week or so along the Wasatch Front. It is supposed to start clearing out on Sunday as the winds will be shifting from the west to the south.

bainin wrote: ↑Fri Jul 16, 2021 12:08 am because cutting up is more dangerous.

And back when most of us were in elementary/middle school cutting up was really dangerous because parents and teachers could take one of those limbs that had been cut off and find a new application for it.

chapmanruss wrote: ↑Fri Jul 16, 2021 12:04 pm
Seriously though, it could be that they are trying to create more defensible space around the structure close to it. With the increasing number and severity of wild fires in the west the last few years it is a good idea. Although Mammoth Mountain which is east of San Francisco gets snow over the winter it is not immune to wild fires.

You may be right. They are cutting it down this way because it is so close to the homes. Mammoth is in the midst of very bad drought because it’s not getting nearly as much snow as it should be. We see a lot of pines dying. Looking to the north east from here we see the smoke plumes from the Dexter Fire, which is just east of Mono Lake. They say its smoke and that from the River Fire is what is making the air in Mammoth so smokey, and unhealthy.