I agree contact the county and have them check it out. That's just a shame to kill one of the wonderful old oaks.

My guiding principle for things like this is that there's no problem until there's a problem. If it's their tree, didn't they have a right to do with it as they wish? Or, is there some kind of heritage tree rule they may have violated? If so, that's someone else's problem to enforce, not mine.

You asked "what would you do?" and no matter what, I would do nothing. I live in a view area and trees block views. When people decide they want to take a tree out, most neighbors waste no time and will go by the house promptly to offer their thanks.

Elmer, there is no view problem. The tree is dead, if it falls it will take out all of our power lines. Thought I made that clear.

I will contact the power company.

It could also fall on a car.

This is not about view. This is a dead tree that is a potential hazard. People die each year due to dead trees falling.

I would go over, compliment the neighbor on their new gate/fence and mention the hazard. They may simply be unaware of the risk. I detest people who run to the city/government etc without reaching out to neighbors first. Now if you don't know them at all maybe call the power company. But try just being a neighbor first.

I didn't say there was a view problem, only relating that people in my neighborhood take trees down all the time and do so to applause, so my own experiences weren't instructive. I would do nothing.

I too dislike neighborhood vigilantes, no matter what sequence they follow to impose themselves into someone else's business. Dead trees can stay where they are for a long time.

I agree that, ideally, talking with them first would seem more neighborly. Unfortunately, plenty of people get all territorial and don't like others telling them what they should or should not be doing. Someone who seems reasonable becomes unreasonable or maybe you don't know them at all. In this case, they might not think it's dangerous. So it's easier and better long-term to circumvent the 'authority' issues by not risking getting into a dispute. Otherwise you can end up with neighbor problems.

If they blow it off and OP later has to contact the county about the hazard, it's likely they will figure that out and resent it. Better the township 'notices' the problem themselves and neighbors are not pitted against each other. If the township doesn't have a problem with the tree, then that's their business and OP won't have a guilty conscious if someone gets hurt.

If this is on their property, so money is involved, they could have some strong feelings about not wanting to take it down. It is very expensive to remove these large trees (thousands).

I don't think the township would be doing anything to them other than giving a deadline to have it removed - unless they did not cooperate.

Anyone who kills a good tree for a view is downright stupid.

Do we know for a fact that this tree is stone cold dead? Could it have some damage/dying branches but still be save by an arborist? Would the electric company if suitably and courteously asked foot the bill for sending a licensed arborist out for a look?

You can call your county..but living in an area that is heavily wooded we have many neighbors with dead trees, and yes we all have no option but to wait and see. Every time the wind blows there is potential for large downed limbs or entire trees. We do not have the power line issue. I would think the power company would be aware. There is an idea, perhaps you could get them to come to your aid? Tree removal is dangerous and expensive. It is not unusual for us to have to find a new route out of our neighborhood to avoid a road obstruction. Issues like dutch Elm or Emerald ash boor are also challenges that are not handled the same in our area as they would be in town. I understand your concern. Unless you have the means to assist the neighbor in the removal of the tree I am not sure there is anything you can do.

Where I live people can't go in and just cut down trees, they must go and have it checked and why are you cutting it down.

When there are trees for like wires they will knock down or power lines the ones my pad hired would go to city hall and tell why they need to come down and it was yes or no given.

One guy out of spite chopped all these beautiful old trees down and he was told not to do it and he did it one night and it was a real up roar over that.

One winter we had a very bad storm and trees were ripped out of their roots the arbutus trees and came down and due to that people went absolutely crazy in getting all their trees chopped down afraid of their house having trees come down on it.

If everyone just went ahead and chopped trees down and its not safety issue or wires, then we wouldn't have trees left in this world and they are important for our world having them in it.

Dead trees can stay where they are for a long time.

*******

Until they don't. This is a liability issue and the homeowner might not be aware of that.

We had an enormous tree fell about a year ago. It damaged our neighbor's house and some of our property. There was no sign of ill-health, so we were not neglectful.

Thank goodness. It cost a fortune to remove the behemoth and our respective insurance companies paid for our respective damage.

If I had a dead tree near power lines, or the street where people walk and drive, I'd remove it. I couldn't relax knowing it could cause damage and hurt or kill someone. But, that's just me

Sorry you are dealing with this. We have had many big trees go down in my town. Some create power outages for days or weeks at a time, others damage homes. One woman was killed by a falling tree right in her backyard.

I agree with Mimi. Yes, dead trees can remain for years, or not. Who wants to take the chance?

I am assuming you don't know this neighbor and that is why you are unsure of how to approach the situation. Are they new home owners? Maybe they don't understand the possible dangers of the dead tree? Can you find out if the tree is actually theirs? When looking at where the tree is positioned, could it fall toward the home owners home? If so, this could be a good way to approach the neighbor.

If I knew for sure the tree was on county property, I would report it. I have done this a few times in my neighborhood. Our town does go around thinning potential hazards in the fall.

I'd call the power company. Usually they like to keep an easement or clearance around their lines. If you tell them that there is a dead tree near a powerline, they'll probably send somebody out to look at it. Then they will determine if they want to take it down or if it's the homeowners responsibility. I probably wouldn't worry about it too much since dead tree can stay upright for a long time but if it was to fall, it could possibly fall the other way. So I wouldn't lose any sleep over it unless it's obvious that it's definitely going to be a problem soon.

What Flamingo said. I too live in a very rural area and see dead/live trees near power trees all the time. I didn't see mentioned whether the tree is on the road right-of-way or on the neighbor's property. (If they killed a tree on public property - inadvertently - by installing their fence and gate, that's a different issue.)

Here's another point - the power company is probably well aware of this tree and has been for years if it's a threat to their lines. In my area, the power companies are proactive in trimming tree branches away from their lines. They usually travel a route once a year, trimming anything they think is or might be a problem.

Don't borrow trouble. As Flamingo said, the tree can stay solid and upright for years and years and years.

I think this IS your business if the tree is a threat to your power and may block your only egress to your home. I would call the electric company -- possibly whatever governmental body is responsible for the road -- then leave it alone.

I can see at least fifty dead ash trees from my back yard. We removed dead and dying volunteer elms and mature ashes from our property when the Emerald Ash Borer started killing ashes. ($5K) The homeowner across the creek to the east has done nothing, and the AOAO to our south has only removed trees near roads or sidewalks. (We back to a conservancy owned by this homeowner association.)

My city is a "Tree City". It requires a permit to remove any tree with a trunk of more than a certain diameter. They can cite owners with diseased trees, but there's no 'teeth' in that. The city won't remove a tree on private property. We are 'stuck' looking at a forest of dead trees, waiting for those south of us to fall on top of our healthy trees and plantings. (Winds here are predominately SW.)

"Anyone who kills a good tree for a view is downright stupid."

That's one opinion. There are many who wouldn't agree with that statement and they're equally entitled to their opinion too.

I have THREE 'good trees' on my Removal List. They are alive, but they were butchered in the past and are now bare trunks to thirty feet with 'tassels' to forty feet. They offer no shade. They offer no screening between buildings. They do not bloom. The only thing they do is bock part of the view of the ocean from the lanai of our Maui condo, which is higher on the hill. I would like to *replace* them. (These are 'shower trees', meant to grow low, in an umbrella shape, and they are cheap. Cities use them to line streets.)

I do doubt that installing a fence would kill a large oak tree. Old oak trees are very strong -- even if truly dead, it will take a long, long time to come down. Live trees with leaves come down more often in high winds. If/when it does, you have no idea which direction it will drop, so stop fretting until it happens. If the power company does not see this as a threat (they have all the easement rights) you should stop worrying about it. You are more likely to have someone hit a pole with a vehicle than have that tree take down the wires -- wanna ban the cars?

Besides, what is this frenzy to remove all old "dead" trees? They are a vital part of the wildlife ecosystem. Eagles in our area only nest in tall, strong "dead" trees. Large woodpecker species need these trees for nesting. People in our lakes region were cutting down "dead snags" -- depriving valuable habitat for the raptors, waterfowl, and other creatures that need them.

If the tree is not completely dead and could be saved, I think that is worthwhile and an arborist could take a look and probably should do so.

This past year I had a very large dying tree in my tiny back yard taken down (after consulting several arborists) and it cost me a lot of $$$. If it had fallen down, it could have fallen on my house, the neighbor's house, or the neighbor's precious toddler girl.

Lucille-same thing happened about 3 years ago. Very, very tall oak died, writ large. I was told it was probably diseased for a period of time, and just suddenly succumbed.

The biggest danger was falling on our house (our bedroom right in the path, yikes!), and to a lesser degree, a neighbor's house. We had it taken down not long after and my peace of mind has been worth it.

Besides, what is this frenzy to remove all old "dead" trees?

******

Well, that's hyperbole that I don't think reflects our thoughts and deeds expressed here. If a tree is a danger, you should consider removing it. If it's in a place that doesn't threaten people and their homes, leave it be.

We're not talking about deforestation!

A dead or sickly tree is a weak tree. I see no reason (other than saving money) to leave them standing. They do fall and people do get hurt (or property damaged). Sometimes it starts with dropping limbs, which are extremely heavy and can kill or maim in an instant!

Why don't you do a search and see if there is a lumber company in the area who would be interested in the wood? If it's big, interesting, has burls, whatever, maybe someone will even pay them for it.

We had exactly the same problem, but a large split trunk, each one leaning toward a home and one directly in the path of power lines. It was the power company that finally took care of it when it was notified of the problem. I would contact yours and let them decide if it needs to be taken down. Probably less cost and aggravation than the tree taking out power lines and blocking the road.

OK terilyn, we are all speculating -- show us a picture of the tree near the neighbor. Will it hit a house if it falls (possible danger)? Will it only take out a few wires or clog a road for a short time (inconvenience)?

I'm not taking pictures of my neighbors house. The tree will not hit a house, as I said, it will take down powers lines and block the only road out of the neighborhood. It was a beautiful oak, about 25-30' tall.

I'm not sure how putting in a fence would have killed a mature tree, unless its main roots were cut or the was tree girdled. Secondly, it may not be their tree if it is close to the road. it could be outside their property line.

The way I'd handle this would be to talk with the power company and inform them there is a dying/dead tree that is threatening the power line. They should look at it. If the power company deems the tree is a threat, they will cut it or trim it back. If they do only a trim, they will not cut anything over the property line. Cuts will be restricted to the power line easement, public right-away, or any part that threatens the power line.

We had a dead / dying ash (mature tree) on our road, close to the power lines. I call our municipal forester to ask if it should be removed. He wasn't interested in removing it and explained that it was very unlikely to just topple, but would just weather away over some years. That was over ten years ago. Now it looks like a tall weathered post that hawks and other birds perch on and which a great many woodpeckers have hammered to bits. I think it's sort of cool.

We have cut down trees on our property, even some nice oaks. I took a video of it falling. Great fun. We used the wood for heat and mulch. Nothing went to waste. I miss those nice oaks (as do the squirrels), but they were too close to the house. There's plenty more around, huge ones that turkeys roost in.

If the large oak at your neighbor's is on his property, I would not say anything. If its truly dead, it won't have leaves and will be unlikely to suddenly topple. Your neighbor must be aware of it. Maybe he or she will want to remove it.

Best wishes.

I'd be very surprised if it wasn't the landowner's tree. We're talking rural area, not urban. The road will have an easement but that doesn't mean the phone company, power company or road authority own the property. They'll have an easement. Being a rural area and only one way in/out I'm guessing it's a township road or something like that. They would not be likely to do anything until it's on the road and then it'll take a while. You have a chain saw for when it comes down? I would however contact the power company. As mentioned many times they often will want to take down or trim trees that threaten the lines. I'm guessing the telephone lines are on the same poles? Contact them too. If the tree comes down during a storm where there's a lot of damage, you'll probably be in an area that is restored later than a more populated area. I don't like losing power.

A 25'-30' tree is not very tall and probably would not be difficult to remove. Is it really that close to the road that it will block it? Is it that narrow of a road? Most people around here set the gates back a bit from the road, at least 25-30 feet, often 50' or more.

Yes: 25'-30' is not a "huge" oak, 25'-30' is small for a tree. Before the height was given I thought this discussion was about something at least twice that height - really more than twice - with a big thick trunk.

This is the type of thing that gets feuds started...and people killed. If it falls...so what? You'll maybe have no power for a few hours till power company fixes it? I would ignore it...not on my land, not a feud I want to start...look out another window...but do not escalate this...worst case now...tree falls...they fix it...worst case if you say something....dead....think about it.

Trees falling can kill people. Dead and sickly trees also drop very heavy limbs. Limbs that are far smaller than a 25-30 foot tree are extremely heavy. The biggest concern is if it hits a car or a person on foot, not a power outage.

It will come down one way or the other. The only advantage I see for leaving it is people trying to save money. Not worth a life. Along that line, you could get yourself sued too if someone gets hurt or property is damaged.

Although a falling tree or large branch can injury or even kill a pedestrian, or even a driver, the risks are, in my estimation, lower than the risk of injury or death from every single car that passes within 10 feet of you in a given day.

We have a 80' foot tall white pine tree between the power lines and the road that broke about 3 feet up from the ground in a windstorm a few years ago. It would have fallen then but it hit and was held up by an equally large red oak. It is still there and since its only broken halfway through the truck, it is still alive, but in the words of a tree professional that looked at it, "It's toast" Due to its proximity to the power lines that tree guy said he felt it would be too risky for his team.

I contacted the power company and they decided that since its leaning away from the power lines it is not of concern to them, even though in my opinion it seems likely to hit the guy wire that connects to a support pole on the other side of the road. I'm not sure what options I have except to wait for it to fall and eye it cautiously every time I walk or drive by.

'Although a falling tree or large branch can injury or even kill a pedestrian, or even a driver, the risks are, in my estimation, lower than the risk of injury or death from every single car that passes within 10 feet of you in a given day.'

The difference is one is avoidable by taking preventative action, the other isn't (unless you are able to stay away from cars).

Statistical risk shouldn't be a factor when something is dangerous, unless it's only your own safety you choose to put at risk.

If no one wants to risk their life taking it down (understandable), then there's not really much else you can do but wait for it to fall and hope for the best.

In our area, we have a town tree warden. If the tree is within the easement of the road, it's a town tree and their responsibility. If the town says it's not their tree, then I'd send a nicely worded but certified letter return receipt requested making sure they are aware that their tree is a hazard and cc your insurance company. This way there is documentation of notification so the liability becomes theirs. That would probably be enough to get them to take care of it. Our neighbors had a dead tree that would've landed on our parking area. Without proof of notification, the liability would've been ours. We notified them, they had it removed.

Just a thought: When I was preparing to have that large tree taken down in my back yard, the power company said they would, without charge, turn off the power and remove the line to my house, and replace it after. It turned out not to be necessary because of how the tree guys removed the tree sections, but I'm wondering if the power company could/would help in a similar manner with the bigger power lines to accommodate a tree company?

I've read that about being sure the insurance company knows. Otherwise, they won't cover it.

Bob..maybe I missed something but..the other option is..you hire a tree cutter and the power company shuts off the power while the critical cutting is done. The power company won't charge you but the prof. Tree cutters services are a different matter. Lol.

Lucille..sorry I should have read the posts before typing.

DH told me I was wrong, said the tree is at least 50'. I'm really not good at eyeballing things! Been a bit distracted with other things, will contact the power company next week.

I'm am not too good at estimating the heights of trees either. I'd have few concerns cutting down a 30 foot tree, and a 20' one I might cut down with a hand saw, but at 50' your concern makes more sense to me.

I wasn't aware that the power might de-energize the wires for a tree company to work near them. However I got the sense from the professional tree guy we used previously that he wasn't interested in cutting this one, irrespective of the wires. I know the nickname for a tree that is partially fallen and held up by another tree is "widowmaker"

It has actually been like this since 2010, and the main tree expert for the electric company saw it and stated he felt it was not going to be a problem for them, so even though I'm sure he will be proven wrong, I'm satisfied that I've done all I can to alert them to the problem. When it does go, I hope it doesn't take the red oak with it, I hope it doesn't block the road for too long*, and I really, really hope no injuries result.

* A similar tree 50 feet away that fell during the same storm completely blocked the road, but random locals cut it enough to drag it off the road in less than 2 hours.

Down here Entergy would be more than happy to cut the power for a few hours while the tree was safely cut down. Beats the alternative if a hurricane takes it down along with the power lines.

They cut the tree down today!!!!!

That's great news. What no one mentioned is that if the tree fell especially during a storm or other devastating event there would be no access to the houses and people on the road from ambulance or fire trucks or other emergency equipment. That in itself can be a reason for removing a tree that would block any road access. On our street a neighbor had a huge oak with long branches that reach across the road from one neighbors house into the yard across the street. As these huge limbs drooped they got low enough over the street that tall trucks, moving trucks, rvs, and The Fire department trucks could not pass below with out hitting and damaging the vehicles. In fact it took the ac unit off the top of our rv not long after we got it. I spoke with the owner and the person across the street. The person across the street wanted the branch cut back away from her property. I told the tree owner I was not able to get my rv in and out of the street because of the limb hazard. She was stubborn and refusing to cut it even though I myself offered to pay for it. I had to print out the legal height clearances for the area for clearance for fire trucks before she would understand how liable that limb could make her. Fire trucks could not have been able to access any of our homes. She finally agreed but I paid several hundred dollars to have her branch cut! The neighbors were furious and insisted that I make her pay, she has plenty of money. But to me getting it taken care of and our safety restored was worth it. Of course she didn't offer to pay a dime on the damage her tree did to my rv. I love trees and hate to see one go but the safety of the house and people around it are priority one.

When the healthy branches of a tree extend over the road or the property of another, the city or other jurisdiction can cut back the branches from the road, and the neighbor can cut branches that extend over their property, at their own expense and without the need of the permission of the owner of the tree, as long as the trimming back does not permanently damage or kill the tree.

They cut them down? Cool!

What made them cut down the trees? I don't see that you've said, but if you have, my apologies.

Robin, I'm not sure, maybe they realized that it would cut off access to the entire neighborhood if it came down on its own. Hurricane season is here and the last one that hit here we were without power and water for over a month. Maybe one of the neighbors closer to them said something. I'm just glad it is gone!

Awesome. You're right. Regardless of why.

:)