Tree gives in to nature

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By Dawn Feddersen | Thursday, March 15, 2007 1:36 AM CDT | () comments

(Larry Fisher/QUAD-CITY TIMES) Chris Bone is tall, but nothing compared to this huge, old oak tree that fell and narrowly missed his father’s house at Telegraph Road and Pine Street in Davenport.

Jim Bone was doing some yard work in his back yard about 6 p.m. Tuesday when out of nowhere came the loudest crash he’d ever heard.

When he went to see what had happened, he was amazed to find the 150-year-old oak tree that had cooled his house, shaded his hostas and been a playplace for children on Davenport’s Pine Street was now lying across his front yard, roots and all.

“I’ve had this house 25, 30 years, probably and I really treasured that tree. It was beautiful in the summertime; a big canopy over my house and the yard. It just won’t be the same without it,” Bone said Wednesday.

The tree, which Bone estimated to be between 50 and 70 feet tall, fell without provocation. Nothing hit or cut the tree, and the air Tuesday evening offered only a mild breeze.

Bone said that a few years ago, he found some workers from the City of Davenport’s forestry department looking at his tree and they estimated its age to be 150 years.

Lon Accola, a forestry technician for the City of Davenport, said root rot was likely the tree’s problem.

“Even a small breeze could take out a tree that’s got enough rot. And right now, all the water is coming up into the trees, so that extra weight could have been the tipping point.”

Bone has his own theory as to what caused the tree’s sudden upheaval after so many years.

“We looked at the bottom, and a root ball had come out. Some of the roots were dead. It’s right against the curb on the street, so I think that prevented some of the roots from growing out,” he said.

Kevin Mason of Mason Tree Service in Davenport speculated on other possible causes.

“All the ice we just had probably had something to do with it. The tree was stressed. It’s just a matter of time before gravity takes over,” he said.

Even though the tree crashed without giving any warning, it managed to miss all of the homes and the cars in the area, and Bone out in his yard.

The only damage to his home was to a shutter, window screens and a few shingles.

“The only limbs that didn’t snap off were the two on the side closest to my house. If they’d broken off, they would’ve caused a lot of damage. It fell at just the right angle. It’s just a blessing that nobody was hurt.”

The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2245 or newsroom@qctimes.com.