Schmelzer said the way the tree’s roots had grown over a boulder may have left it with a relatively loose grip on the soil. He said his best guess is a thunderstorm that rolled out of the area shortly after 3 a.m. further weakened the roots and that a strong gust of wind finally toppled it sometime around 4 a.m. “It was a very tragic accident, and I feel really badly,” state parks director Dan Schuller said.

Schuller said his office doesn’t keep records of the tree inspections in campgrounds and along trails or of the number of trees and branches that crews cut down because they are damaged or dying. “We remove hazardous trees when we find them,” Schuller said. “We do the best that we can. We work with the forestry program to help us identify hazards. Safety is our No. 1 concern.”

Crews checked Devil’s Lake campground trees in October and will perform the next inspection this month, Schmelzer said.

Five deaths were reported on lands managed by state parks officials in 2013, Schuller said.

The parks recently began a more aggressive program of cutting trees in areas away from heavily used areas as part of a plan to manage forest growth, Schuller said. But the additional work hasn’t caused any reduction in campground tree inspections, Schuller said, because state forestry personnel assist in the work.