During a summer storm a client of ours had a Poplar tree struck by lightning. This doesn’t always mean the death of the tree but in this case it did as it blew apart the top of the tree which caused a large section of it to come crashing down on the home owner’s driveway. We were called out to inspect the tree and it was evident the tree had to be removed. A crane was used for safety purposes as the structural integrity of the tree was jeopardized.

The tree was removed in two sections, the top half of the tree first then the bottom.





After laying the tree on the ground the full trauma from the lightning strike could be seen. Here the tree can be seen to have had the bark blown off and splits running up the length of the tree. This Tree was completely split from the inside by the lightning strike and could have easily fallen in another storm or with just high winds.









Here are two more pictures showing the tree after being cut in two different places. You can really see how bad this tree was split after the strike.





Finally, here is a piece of wood we found about 100 feet away from the tree. It was blown off from the lightning strike and could have easily damaged something. It is the smaller piece of split wood seen at the bottom of the picture.



Most of the time the tree will die after being struck by lightning which can happen immediately or over many years the tree will fail; however, sometimes they will survive.

Here at R. L. Elliott Enterprises we have dealt with lightning struck trees many times. If you ever have concern for your trees about protecting them from lightning strikes or need a tree evaluated after being struck by lightning we would be happy to do so. We can always be reached via our Contact Us page or by telephone: (804) 550-1760 .