Cut them off right where the trunk comes out of the ground.

Logic would tell me that you would really have to remove A LOT of branches (2/3 or more??) to significantly decrease the area that the wind can catch.

I would leave the trees intact. If they haven't blown over in 35 years, I think they deserve to stay. Just think how much those large firs reduce your carbon footprint.

Every big storm, you'll have some branches that will fall down, that's a given. Just bring them inside for decorations, that's what I do.

I would have said the same thing before this storm, but a big douglas fir just fell on our neighbor's house! It was large, perfectly healthy and did not have an especially dense crown. I've also observed that non-native trees are more likely to fall over when they are planted close to a structre and can't develop a root system on one side. Fortunately, this usually means they fall away from the structure, but they could hit something else.

As much as I like trees, I'm rapidly becoming convinced that I wouldn't want any large, evergreen trees up close to my house. However, I like the sun more than some people. If you want shade, plant an oak or something that won't fall over when the wind blows.

I've heard that if you just thin out the branches, it can help, but is no guarantee. If the firs are growing in a forest, then they're bare along a lot of the trunk, with the heaviest growth on the upper part of the tree. So that causes the whole tree to sway in the heavy wind and if the ground is saturated it's harder for the roots to stay anchored. Those limbs on the firs are so long and heavy and they just twist every which way in the wind.

Ian, I've seen lots of blown down maples and populus in my travels around the South Sound area past couple of days, plus lots of other deciduous trees I could not readily identifiy from the freeway. Some were easily as big as a doug fir. It's not just conifers that blow down.

I would sure hate to live in a world without trees.

Well so would I. The kinds of trees you mention are, in general, much more brittle than oaks. I've seen oaks break apart in snow, on a very rare occasion, but never in wind. I'll keep my eyes open....

If it fell over, maybe it wasn't "perfectly healthy." Maybe it had honey fungus or root rot.

Well, that's certainly possible, but I think soil drainage/saturation at the time was another major issue - that's definitely the reason some of my stuff fell over.

Yes, you see that fairly often here: a tree topples on a pancake of roots to reveal mud or water underneath. But: did the supporting roots get eaten away by a pathogen first? Some kinds of trees don't seem to die of old age, but rather have to be killed by a mishap first. Coast redwood is an example, it may really live indefinitely.

This is our big fir that went down. It's roots had been damaged when the driveway was put in about 12 years ago, so that probably contributed to some degree. A neighbor about 130' to the south had cleared his land, so that allows more wind to come through. There are mostly maples SW of this tree, so they don't block the wind much at all.
There was no standing water in the bottom of the hole it left.
Anyone in need of a large stump? ;)

The roots on the part abutting the drive to look necrotic.

Previous was supposed to be "do look necrotic."

We never lost our big tree in previous storms, because they had not been watered much. They rooted a bit deeper.

I have not heard of "spiral" pruning, but thinning is a more common term.

Light thinning won't hurt, probably not exceeding 10% maximum removal of foliage.

Too much pruning is bad too.

A lot of tree services - many not real arborists - are probably going to milk this storm all they can.

Even some arborists will try and make a few extra dollars.

Hello Everyone, I hope you all have survived our series of storms.

Without sounding like a jerk, aren't big trees a part of living in the pacific northwest? If you want a perfectly flat treeless yard either build your house in the middle of a soccer pitch or move to the prairies. I can understand if your ancestors built your house and then a 200 year old fir grows up beside it over a couple of centuries. But if you buy a house surounded by big trees, or build your house in the middle of a forest, how can you complain when some fall down.
I do feel for all those who have had damage done to their property due to falling limbs and trees. But I have little sympathy for those who have parked their expensive car,boat, etc under a big fir and then want the city to tear every tree down because of damge to the same car, boat etc. Personal responsibility has to come to play somewhere.

Again I am not trying to sound like a jerk and for all those who had trees and branches come throught the roof, I do feel for you.

Merry Christmas and Happy New year to you all

Moving to the country and then complaining about the sounds and smells of agricultural operations is another classic. The compromise with trees is to have them checked by professionals to see if they look OK. Apart from the problem of one wrecking your house, your car or you if it comes down in the wrong place at the right time I wouldn't want tall conifers right around my house because of the moss, the drip, the litter and the gloom. I don't like dust or roasting in summer, either. A nice, sunny clearing with evergreen trees back a ways, around the edges would be ideal. You get the cooling effect of their shadows playing over part of the property in summer, wind protection, privacy and a great visual backdrop to smaller, more colorful plantings without the nuisance and potential harm of having them right on top of you.

Inviting as some places look set in among a solid growth of native (or other large) trees, a yard is not a forest.

We only have one large tree to the south of us, a young cedar. We debated about whether or not to take it out, but we both like cedars and decided it would stay. They don't tend to blow down as much as firs do, but they do break off at times.

I don't want cities/governments to do anything - I agree that personal responsibility is the name of the game. If you don't have insurance, well too bad. I'm just saying.... I, personally, would choose not to have large trees near my house, because of the risk of them falling, and because I enjoy as much sun as this climate has to offer, and wind etc. doesn't bother me. Perhaps an unfortunate part of the problem is that suburbia has spread so far into the forest - but hey there is the free market for you.

You could always move into one of those new developments that mowes every living thing down before building. Then they name the streets things like "Alder Blvd." or "Hemlock Dr.".

Actually, that is a sound approach. If open-grown, impressive landmark trees can be retained and given a wide berth, that is certainly preferable to destroying living monuments. But inserting houses and apartments into second growth stick woods of previously crowded Douglas firs or alders, leaving narrow strips, small clumps or single rows of them to be a nuisance or a danger is not a good system. Better to clear it all and replant with selections suitable to the new land use.

A yard is not a forest.

We have an absolutely beautiful piece of property with huge Doug firs, Gary Oaks and Maple. Most of the trees are away from the house, but there are two close to the garage. They seem to be in good shape and since they haven't had their roots disturbed for 35 years, I think they are ok. Interestingly, there is a Doug Fir on the lawn that was small enough for a teenage son to put Christmas lights on it in 1978 and it is now at least 60 feet high and over 2 ft. through at the butt. We take a long time to decide to cut any tree down but in this climate you can disappear into a forest if you're not careful.

My yard is a forest, but it's not right up against my house!

There was a time when houses were built without bulldozing all the tree roots within 20 feet (or more) of the foundation. The older your house is, the less likely it is that the tall trees around your house are missing half their root system and will come crashing into your bedroom while you sleep.

Also if you have garry oaks, I would be less concerned, as they indicate excellent drainage around here.

We have one big Doug fir that I plan to have pruned for me.

I'm an Arborist, but I don't climb. I ask Bartlett tree service near here to thin our old Doug fir sometime.

Just removing the dead wood and twigs alone, removes quite a bit of wind-sail and resistence to the wind.

I prefer to have about 15% of the live limbs removed to allow the wind to pass through the tree easier, rather than tug on it so hard.

Plastic is bad for putting around trees, but I have recommended it in the past years for once short-term purpose.

When a major rain event is expected, there can be a benefit to placing plastic over the ground around a large tree if the water can flow away from the root zone. This would just be temporary - the plastic would be folded and stored after about one week. This is like a once-in-3-years type thing. Not for all the big trees in a city. The ones that would benefit, are remaining big trees in residential neighborhoods, where a lot of protective grove trees were removed to build houses, leaving large remnant trees exposed to more wind.

And one of the best ways to prepare for a storm if you have big trees near your house, is to stay in a motel the night of our worst predicted storms.

Found this today.

Here is a link that might be useful: Plant of the Month: January 2007 Douglas Fir

Take a power washer to the uprooted stump and expose the skeleton of roots. Makes for an interesting yard sculpture.

I lost many trees, almost all were diseased to begin with.

Jim

If it turns out a tree was felled by Armillaria it might be a good idea to think about removing the stump.

I had a forester come and "take a look" at our doug firs. He said that if you look at the top and see that it is full and healthy looking the tree is probably fine. If the top is thinning, further investigation should be done as it could be suffering from root rot. Luckily, our trees look just fine so we are going to get an arborist to prune some of the heavy branches that overhang the garage and stop worrying. I think the arborists are going to be VERY busy this year knocking down every tree in sight of a home. Let's hope that this cold weather is changing the windy pattern we have had so far this winter.

It's not the wind that blows the trees down,it's the rain, the
earth becomes waterlogged and the trees are helpless

Actually, it's the little elves that come out at night and push them over. But you can never see them.

Good thing I have that degree in horticulture.

Do they wear little swim trunks?