Selina Helps With Dangerous Tree
Posted on 15th February 2022 at 12:46
One of regular arborist clients called us in to assist with making an unstable, storm damaged tree safe. A large part of the tree had already snapped off and fallen onto a house, stone wall and fencing causing some damage, leaving the rest of the tree unbalanced, fragile and too dangerous to climb. They needed and requested Selina’s assistance to help stabilize the tree enough to allow it to be climbed safely.
Selina, High Reaching Solutions Platform Basket 22.10 EVO Hybrid tracked spider cherry picker, was requested as the tree was located in a very awkward position, which could ONLY be accessed via a steeply banked field. On first seeing the steepness of the field, it was necessary to assess a safe route for Selina, as obviously we didn’t want her to tip over or get stuck getting in or out. Tracking her across the slope was out of the question as there was a high probability of her losing at least one track, if not both, due to side pressure load. After walking the route, we decided the best (and only) option, was to track her up the slope at an angle until we reached a ‘relatively’ level area, then across a few meters before descending, again at a slight angle, toward the tree.
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From the start we set Selinas’ stabilizing legs to ‘hover’ about 12 inches above the ground. We did this for three reasons.
1. There was a risk that Selina might slide on the mud and tip over.
2. They helped ‘balance’, much like a pole for a tightrope walker.
3. They could quickly be put down and used as ‘anchors’ should Selina start to slide.
Selina, being fully radio remote-controlled meant that our experienced operator was able to guide her throughout the whole process in complete safety by keeping a safe distance and having all-round visibility. Selina coped admirably with the slope, not losing traction once and we got her near to the base of the tree on relatively level but slightly boggy ground without drama.
Although the area that Selina was positioned was relatively flat, either side to her was sloped. One side sloped upward and the other sloped downward toward the tree. To ensure safety we dug out each area where her spreader plates needed to be, so they could sit flat for her outriggers/stabilizing legs.
Once setup, Selinas’ combined height and outreach capabilities enabled our client to first ‘balance’ the tree and then start to dismantle it in a safer fashion. Unfortunate, due to the restriction of the sloping terrain and the ONLY position Selina could be in, she could not reach the lower furthest limbs. However, having made the tree a lot safer, our client was able to setup safe rope rigging and climbed out on the lower limbs.
We hope you enjoyed these photos.
If you need Selina or one of her sisters to get into a tight or awkward space then please give High Reaching Solutions a call on 0845 313 8420 or myself directly on 07963 933 644 and we'll do our very best to assist you.
Tagged as: arborist, cherrypicker, North Yorkshire, spiderlift, tracked cherry picker, tree surgeons, work at height
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