Could be any number of reasons....drought/climate change, laminated root rot, fungal dieback, insect infestation, etc. Impossible to say with any kind of certainty just viewing a couple of long distance photos.

It's even harder to guess when you don't even know what kind tree is burning up. Palm trees and conifers are a seldom seen combination to boot.

Are they Norfolk Island Pine?

"Palm trees and conifers are a seldom seen combination to boot."

Depends on location. Common enough combo in my neck of the woods :-)

Not Norfolk pine.......the habit is wrong.

I was surprised to see palm trees in a Seattle garden.

Yes Norfolk seemed wrong at the time. It was a nudge. But I think I see a baby banana and two bougainvillea. Unless they are azalea.

There's a 20+ footer in my front yard :-) Personally, I don't care for that look in the PNW but I inherited this one and palms are popular here. I just don't get it myself.

Hi All, It seems there was some confusion regarding the trees. I have updated the picture and added some arrows. The palm trees were not the issue. I blocked those in the updated pictures. Its the big trees in the background. PS> This is located in Sacramento.

I think we both knew you were talking about the tall burning conifers in the back row.. We just wandered off a bit.

Identify the burning trees and call your local county cooperative extension service and inquire about what kind pestilence attacks this particular species of tree in your area.

No confusion :-) We knew you were referring to the conifers. The juxtaposition of the palms with the conifers was just a distraction.

Since we now know location, I'd guess the trees to be Douglas firs, in which case the problem is likely due to either drought or laminated root rot.

We could see which trees, we just can’t id them. We need closer pix to id the trees and the damage.

tj

Thank you very much. Please see the close up pictures.

First pic is of a coast redwood. If that is one that is dying, then the cause is 95% assuredly drought.

Second tree is still too far away but is probably a drought victim as well. Be prepared......you're going to be seeing a lot more of this. And get the dead trees cleared away ASAP to reduce fuel for wildfires.

All the pics are from the same type of trees. Its just various angles etc. But thank you.

what I wrote in 2016...cf: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/3828976/norcal-field-trip-report-pt-1-maybe

Just a comment I gotta make that is sure to raise some hackles: most of the redwoods planted in the central Valley or interior Contra Costa County currently look like crap. Now, I do say currently, because how would I know for sure: maybe this is partly a byproduct of CA's recent drought. These at UC Davis are representative of the bad end of the spectrum:

Seems like in parts of CA where the climate is really NOT suitable, there was some kind of romanticism about planting redwoods for decades. Because they could survive with supplemental irrigation and/or in swales with extra moisture. Looks like that is no longer the case.