Big gum falls in family’s yard
Luck was on the Campbell family’s side when a 25m tall gum tree fell in the front yard of their River St home in north Deniliquin on Tuesday evening.
The big gum brought down a massive branch from an equally large gum tree and another small tree when it fell, and landed in an area where Tony and Rachel Campbell’s two young boys often play.
The fallen tree’s trunk is about a metre in diameter, and it’s fully exposed root mass is just over three metres in diameter.
The family was inside having dinner at the time the tree came down, about 6pm.
‘‘Our house is a bit of a distance from where it fell and we didn’t even hear it, which is quite unbelievable,’’ Rachel said.
‘‘One of our neighbours heard it though and came over to let us know. It’s pretty scary to think it’s an area where we’re often playing with our boys.’’
Deniliquin Tree Service owner and local arborist Daniel Rosbifi said the likely cause was the very wet soil profile beneath the tree.
He said there have been several similar cases across the local area since heavy rains started hitting the region in May.
‘‘The ground is that saturated with water and it’s been a few years since it’s been this wet,’’ Mr Rosbifi said.
‘‘I’ve come across this same thing several times since May, and it’s usually larger trees with large canopies that have more leverage (to topple over).’’
Mr Rosbifi said unfortunately there is no way to prevent the soil underneath trees from becoming too saturated.
But he said in some cases there is enough time to identify if trees are susceptible to falling.
‘‘There are some tell-tale signs, like ground movement and cracks and gaps at the base.
‘‘Most people miss them because they’re not looking at the base of their trees like we do.
‘‘But I would say it’s only in about half the cases you can see what’s happening before it’s too late.
‘‘There is nothing you can do to stop it from happening, but there is something you can do to stop it from getting worse.
‘‘I would encourage people not to put grass clippings or mulch around the base of trees, particularly large trees, as this can prevent the base from drying out.’’