Example
Upper arlington, Ohio
December 2019
A customer was concerned about a large Catalpa near their home so they purchased a Standard Tree Risk Assessment to determine the future risk of failure of the tree. José Fernández of Russell Tree Experts completed a comprehensive review of the tree following the TRAQ (level 2) guidelines and assigned the tree a “High Risk” rating. A portion of José’s report follows:
Following the felling of the tree, it was clear that José’s “High Risk” evaluation was accurate.
"The trunk and root crown of the tree is very, very hollow. Sounding with a mallet revealed extensive areas of decay with 2-3 areas that were solid. One buttress root has an open cavity which continues into the trunk. It is possible to insert a 3 foot probe into the cavity with no resistance. The mallet sounding revealed that most of the holding wood is very thin. The cavity is likely about 80% of the diameter of the trunk, possibly more, and extends upward into the trunk for at least 5 feet."
As a result of the assessment, the customer understandably elected to have the tree removed. A Russell Tree Experts crew then felled the tree a few weeks later — the photo below shows what they found. It’s safe to say that Jose’s “high risk” evaluation was accurate and that the customer made a wise decision to remove the tree.