Speaking of Maine, -Your Post has Reminded me of the 1947, Statewide Forest Fires.

In Judith Butler's Book, "Wildfire Loose, -The Week Maine Burned", -I Recall Reading that Apparently Untouched Trees, -Still Sometimes had their Root Systems Greatly Weakened, -by a Creeping, Hang On, Underground Portion of the Fire.

Without Warning, -They'd Often just Fall Right Over!, -Weeks or More After the Fire!

Of Course there May have been NO Nearby Fire Passage, in the Case we're Talking About here. (I did Not yet Look Over the Link).

But this has Got me to Thinking, -of this and Other (Natural) Causes of Root Weakening or Damage. As Being Behind *Some* of the Apparently Perfectly Healthy Trees which Fall Over, -even on Perfectly Windless Days! In some cases, it could have to do with what occurs Underground, -with the Roots, -that you Don't Readily See!

Another Thing, -and a Tangibly Encouraging Sign, -as to the Phenonomon's General Rarity! And Thats to just Look at the Typical Woods Floor About you! Any to Every Typical One you've ever Seen. And Look at the Extreme Rarity!, of Healthy, *Non*-Diseased, *Non-Weakened, Etc Trees, Strewn About such Woods or Forest Floor!

Even with Old Falls, -you can Pretty Well Tell, -Whether it had been Initially a Healthy or Weakened Tree, which so Fell.

Sure you'll Often See a Fairly Good Number of Fallen Trees Strewn About. From Over the Years. But these are Overwhelmingly, -Often Entirely, -Composed of Weak, Etc. Falls! Not What had been Obviously Strong, Robust, Healthy Trees.

I'm Excepting Lightning Damaged or Fallen Trees! Lightning Does Not Care whether it's Forest Target is a Healthy, or Not so Healthy or Securely Rooted Tree!

So of All the Fallen Timber you typically See About you, -that Doesn't have the Earmarks of a Lightning Strike,- (I Know in Older Trees and Falls, that this may be Increasingly Difficult to Gauge)., -How Much of this Shows Itself to have been a "Weak Fall"?, as Oppossed to a "Strong Fall"?!

The Answer Usually is Overwhelmingly one of "Weak Tree Falls"!

So This should Provide some Tangible Encouragement, -Towards Demonstrating the Phenonomon's Quite Considerable Raritude!

Lastly, on the Rare Occassions when a Perfectly Healthy One Does Keel Over, -Including on Perfectly Calm Days, -If some of them Aren't Due to some Unseen Root Problem or the Like!, -Then What it can be From!, is a Mystery to me!

It's a Dangerous Phenonomon that is certainly Potential and Possible! But It, -in the Form of Healthy Trees you Wouldn't Expect to so Fall Over, -is also Actually Quite Very Rare! [color:"black"] [/color] [email]Nomad[/email]