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Hazard Tree – Felling Safety Tips

 

Felling a hazard tree requires accurate risk assessment and complexity analysis, and demands the sawyer’s full situational awareness. In all cases, remember to establish and maintain a secure felling area.

Do not bypass hazard trees without taking some action such as felling or establishing a No-Work-Zone.

Degree of hazard varies with tree size, species, and type/location of defect:

  • Stem defects resulting in tree failure, i.e., collapse.
  • Weakened sapwood resulting in loss of control when falling trees & limits solid wood for wedging. 
  • Overhead hazards, i.e., dead or hanging limbs falling on the faller.

Line art of a snag tree with bare branches

Indicators of potential felling hazards:

Dead Limbs: limbs of all sizes and species with decay evident cracking, or loose, hung-up limbs. Avoid working under overhead hazards.

Witches Broom: caused by mistletoe infection, limbs can grow very large and heavy (200+ lbs).

Split Trunk: cracked trunk from frost, lightning, or wind. Visible evidence of advanced decay indicates serious weakness where the tree could fail.

Stem Damage: caused by windfall, scarring, fire, machine, and animal damage, as well as heart rot diseases.

Thick Sloughing Bark or Sloughing Sapwood: usually found on dead trees. Loose bark on Douglas fir or loose sapwood on wind snapped cedars can dislodge during falling.

Butt and Stem Cankers: usually found on deciduous trees but can occur on Douglas fir and pine. The infected areas weaken the stem.

Fungal Fruiting Bodies or Conks: found on stems it may indicate massive interior rot 1-2 yards above and below conk. Excessive resinosis (resin flow) also indicates heart or root diseases.

Heavy Tree Lean: may be caused by damaged roots or lifting root mats, shallow or wet soils. In some cases, the tree may have corrected itself which can be determined by looking for corrected top growth.

Root Condition: look for any ground cracks around the base of the tree, signs of decay or fungal conks on the roots.

Cat Face: look for enough solid wood to construct an effective undercut and back cut.

 

Category
Felling Safety
References
Hazard Tree and Tree Felling Subcommittee

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ETC Equipment Bulletin: 25-003 Flame-Resistant Shirt Survey

Date: June 12, 2025
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The U.S. Forest Service National Technology and Development Program (NTDP) is seeking input on the Forest Service-designed flame-resistant (FR) shirt, currently available through the National Interagency Support Cache system and FedMall.

NTDP is conducting a product review to improve future FR shirt designs. As part of this effort, a short survey is now open for federal employees who have worn any of three recent FR shirt models. Feedback will guide design improvements to better meet the needs of wildland firefighters.

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The Emergency Medical Committee has issued interim guidance for Rapid Extraction Module Support (REMS) teams. Until further notice, Type I and II REMS teams must designate a team leader qualified at Firefighter Type 1 Squad Boss (FFT1) or higher. This temporary change replaces the Single Resource Boss (SRB) requirement, which is currently not feasible due to administrative barriers.

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The Equipment Technology Committee issued Equipment Bulletin: 25-002 to address a manufacturing nonconformity affecting Forest Service specification, 6170-4K Chain Saw Chaps. The issue applies to chaps manufactured in 2024 and 2025 and distributed through FedMall. These chaps may have incorrectly bound edges that expose inner protective layers.

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