Last year we secured permission from the Concord Natural Resource Commission to remove trees that posed a threat to the River House. Today, that work was performed starting with a massive oak tree at least 100 feet tall. At some point, the tree had been struck by lightning; probably the same bolt that hit the house. I found evidence of fire damage to the framing of the house on the corner adjacent to the tree while doing deconstruction. According to the arborist we hired, this tree, in particular, posed an imminent and serious threat due to its size, weight, and the direction it was leaning. The tree service we hired for the work was amazing. Pictured above is a worker being lowered into the top of the tree. After formulating a plan of attack, he secured the upper section of the tree to the crane, rappelled down a bit to cut off that section, and then rappelled all the way to the ground. The crane then lifted the top section up and over the house and placed it in the driveway where other workers fed it into a giant chipper. Clearing this treetop made way for the second tree, a pine which they took all at once. The bottom section of the oak was taken in two sections, each weighing about 5 tons each. I used the drone to take videos of the whole operation.