Hazardous Tree Identification: Know What to Look For Before It’s Too Late
Hazardous tree identification is spotting signs that a tree might fail. You’re looking for structural problems, disease, decay, anything making it likely to drop branches or fall over completely. Not always obvious either, which is the frustrating part. Seen plenty of trees that looked fine until you got close and realized there were serious problems.
Property owners are legally responsible for safe trees. That’s what catches people off guard. Tree falls on your neighbor’s car, branch comes down on someone walking past – suddenly you’re dealing with insurance claims, maybe lawsuits. At Diamond Tree Experts, we see this in Salt Lake County all the time. Trees that needed work five years ago finally fail during a storm.
Tree hazards develop slowly, that’s the issue. Root rot takes years. Internal decay happens gradually. People miss the warning signs or don’t know what they’re looking at until it becomes an emergency tree removal situation.
What Actually Matters When You Look at Trees
Dead branches are obvious but size and location change everything. A few small dead twigs? Not worried about that. Large dead branches hanging over your driveway or house? Those need removal. They drop without warning sometimes, no wind required.
Cracks in the trunk mean structural trouble. Vertical cracks might be from frost or the tree growing too fast. Horizontal cracks usually indicate internal decay that you can’t see from outside. Deep cracks that are getting wider – that tree’s compromised.
Cavities and hollow sections show decay at work, wood rotting from inside out. The question becomes how much sound wood is left. Sometimes there’s a massive hollow but enough good wood remains that the tree functions fine. Other times what looks like a small cavity has decay spread throughout the entire trunk. Can’t always tell from visual inspection alone.
Fungal growth on trunks or branches – mushrooms, shelf fungi, conks – means rot inside the tree. Those fruiting bodies are just what you see. The actual fungus is throughout the wood breaking it down. Different fungi attack different parts. Some go for roots, some target heartwood, some work on sapwood. Seeing any fungal growth tells you decay is active.
Leaning trees need context to evaluate. Has it always leaned? Probably adapted, built reaction wood to compensate. Started leaning recently or suddenly increased the angle? Major red flag. Could be root failure, soil moving, the tree losing ability to stay upright. And where it’s leaning toward matters. Leaning over an empty field versus leaning toward your house are completely different risk levels.
Root problems are harder because they’re underground. But there are signs. Roots that used to be buried now exposed. Soil heaving or cracking near the base. Mushrooms growing around the root flare. These indicate compromised root systems. Construction damage causes a lot of root problems – someone digs a trench for utilities, cuts through major roots, then three years later the tree fails.
Included bark creates weak unions between branches. Happens when two branches grow so close that bark gets trapped between them instead of wood fusing together. The bark acts like a wedge. Under load those branches split apart. Look for narrow V-shaped crotches instead of U-shaped. The narrow angles usually have included bark.
Environmental Stuff Making It Worse
Soil conditions determine root health more than people realize. Compacted soil from construction or vehicles restricts root growth. Poor drainage keeps roots waterlogged leading to root rot. Nutrient-deficient soil means weak growth, reduced ability to compartmentalize decay. You can have a naturally strong tree species but plant it in terrible soil and it becomes hazardous decades sooner than normal.
Weather events stress trees obviously. Windstorms snap branches, uproot entire trees. Ice storms add so much weight that limbs break. Drought weakens trees over time, makes them susceptible to pests and disease. We’re getting more extreme weather lately which means trees face stresses they didn’t evolve to handle.
Proximity to structures changes the risk calculation entirely. Tree with significant defects in the middle of a forest? Low risk because nothing gets damaged if it fails. Same tree next to a house or parking lot? High risk. You’re not just evaluating the tree’s condition but what it could hit.
Different Species Have Different Problems
Some tree species are more prone to hazards than others. Fast-growing trees like poplars and willows have weaker wood. They grow quickly which is great for shade but that wood is brittle, breaks easily in storms. They’re also shorter-lived compared to slower-growing hardwoods.
Ash trees are basically all hazards now because of emerald ash borer. Got an ash tree that hasn’t been treated? Probably dying or dead, needs removal before it falls on its own. Oaks can get oak wilt which kills them relatively fast. Pines are susceptible to root rot in poorly drained soil.
Knowing your tree species helps you understand what to watch for. Each species has particular weak points.
When You Need Professional Assessment
You can do basic visual inspection yourself. Walk around your property, look at your trees, notice if anything seems wrong. But there’s limits to what untrained eyes catch. Internal decay doesn’t show externally until it’s advanced. Subtle structural defects get missed. Root problems are mostly invisible.
A certified arborist has training and equipment you don’t. They know what to look for, how to assess risk properly. An ISA Certified Arborist with Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ) can quantify risk using standardized methods. They consider likelihood of failure, likelihood of impact, consequences of failure, then give you a risk rating.
They also have equipment like resistographs that measure wood density to detect internal decay. Sonic tomography creates images of internal structure without drilling into the tree. Not tools most homeowners own.
Get professional assessment when you’ve got large trees near structures, when you notice hazard signs, after severe weather, or if you’re unsure. Cost of an arborist inspection is nothing compared to cost of tree failure causing damage.
What Happens When You Ignore Problems
Property damage is most common. Trees fall on houses, cars, fences, power lines. Branches drop and break windows, damage roofs. Repairs cost thousands. Sometimes tens of thousands depending on severity.
Personal injury is worst-case but it happens. Someone gets hit by a falling branch. Tree falls on a vehicle with people inside. Not frequent but when it does happen the consequences are catastrophic.
Legal liability comes into play because property owners have a duty to maintain reasonably safe conditions. You knew about a hazardous tree, or should have known, didn’t address it, and it causes damage or injury? You’re potentially liable. Insurance might not cover it if they determine you were negligent.
Reactive approach costs more than proactive. Emergency tree removal after something’s already failed is expensive. You’re paying premium rates for immediate service, dealing with damage cleanup, possibly temporary housing if your home isn’t habitable. Versus regular inspection and maintenance catching problems early when they’re cheaper to fix.
Hazardous Tree Identification – Basic Ways to Deal With It
Regular pruning removes deadwood, reduces wind resistance by thinning the canopy. Also corrects structural problems when trees are young, prevents bigger issues later. Pruning should follow ANSI A300 standards, be done by people who know what they’re doing. Bad pruning creates more hazards than it solves.
Cabling and bracing can support weak unions or codominant stems. Gives structural support to trees that would otherwise be high risk of failure. Not a permanent fix but extends useful life of valuable trees.
Soil improvements through amendments and fertilization help trees resist stress, compartmentalize decay more effectively. Healthy trees defend themselves better than stressed ones.
Sometimes removal is the only option. Decay too advanced, structural defects too severe, tree dead or dying. Removal needs to be done safely by professionals with proper equipment and insurance.
Diamond Tree Experts handles this throughout Salt Lake County and surrounding areas. Comprehensive tree risk assessments, hazard tree identification, mitigation work, and when necessary safe removal. We’ve been doing this for over 57 years so we’ve seen pretty much every tree hazard situation imaginable.
Tree trouble doesn’t wait. Trees don’t fix themselves, problems get worse over time. Annual inspections catch issues early. After major storms check your trees. If you notice anything that seems off get it looked at. Basic property maintenance that protects your investment and keeps people safe.
