SEATTLE — With heavy rain on the way in time for spooky season, arborists are warning to look out for zombie trees that can fall with destructive results.
“When we talk about zombie trees, these trees look living, but if we look closer at them, there are sections of the tree that have dead wood.” Jason Hayes, a certified arborist and district manager of Davey Tree in the Seattle area.
Dead pieces of wood are the first red flag Hayes looks for. He also says scarring, decaying portions, cavities that are visible, roots exposed from the ground, sawdust near the base of trees, and fungus growing from the base are all signs that a tree has unhealthy chunks that can break off during a storm.
“When we get into fall, sections that aren’t healthy or there are defects that we don’t really notice could potentially fall down, especially when we get a new storm system coming in,” Hayes said.
Hayes says the first storms of the year typically have the biggest potential for damage. Trees still have leaves that create extra weight, they are stressed because of the long, dry summer, and roots that become saturated for the first time in a while become soft and lose their strength.
“What I’ve noticed over the years as we have hotter, drier summers, root systems dry out, and then we get heavy rain in the fall and the winter, and the roots that. The roots that were really dry become spongy, and they don’t have the strength that they used to.”
Some trees he has noticed are more susceptible. Douglas Firs can get root rots, and cedars often have double trunks, where one trunk is weaker and more likely to fall. Hemlocks have root rot and notoriously shallow roots.
“I’ve seen storms where almost every tree is a hemlock that fell over,” Hayes said.
Hayes says this is a good time of year to have a certified arborist check out any trees people may be concerned about.
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