A pine down across the roof

A large pine was already lying across the roof when we got there.

A tree down on a house is a different job from a tree standing beside one. The load is spread through the trunk in ways you cannot read from the ground, and the surface underneath it is damaged before anybody starts. Every cut has to come off small enough that nothing shifts and nothing rolls, because the second impact is the one that goes through the decking.

The pine came off the roof in sections, rigged and lowered rather than let go. The roof and the siding were protected as far as they could be from anything further, and ground protection mats went down where the truck and the tractor had to work.

A maple on the same property had a broken limb hanging over the gutters with its weight resting on the roof. That came off as well. A limb touching a roof works at the shingles every time the wind moves.

Other pines had uprooted and been cut into already. Those were cleared out with the rest.

One day, and the wood went out on the chip truck.