The biggest tree cut in history was the General Noble Tree; a massive sequoia ( Sequoiadendron gignetti) from the Converse Basin, California. In 2021, at a celebration in honor of its 50th anniversary, the local newspaper carried a story about the illustrious cut. At that time, it was the largest tree cut in history! According to the story, it took two men nearly an hour to chop down the giant tree. The paper also reported that the men used chainsaws to cut down the tree.
Just a couple of hours later, I received an email from a knowledgeable person who works in the local logging department. He informed me that the cut occurred exactly two hours ago. He asked if I knew that this happened. Of course, I did not know. But he told me the event actually happened. He explained that the cutting of the old tree occurred at approximately one o'clock in the morning when a team of workers were using a chain saw to cut brush from a large tree on their property.
When the crew finished working, they contacted me and told me that the chainsaw had accidentally cut the oldest tree on their property down to a stump - seven hours ago. They told me that the crew had tried to call someone who knew about cutting old trees, but nobody could be found. They added that it would be impossible for them to bring the dead tree back to the park headquarters because it would have to be cut into one piece.
I had no idea what to make of this so I waited for the guys to call me with the good news. Two hours later, while I was sitting in my car, I noticed a message on my telephone screen from a " forestry technician". He phoned me to find out where I could have the stump removed. I asked if he could help me find a felling licence agency in our town. He said he could and would be sending me his email.
Seven hours later, the technicians arrived. They told me they would remove the stump, remove the tree and take pictures to send to the felling licence agency in California. I was glad they had called me and were able to come so quickly. It was nice to have a last-minute thank you present from these professionals. It was a wonderful ending to an event that had occurred seven hours previous.
The largest tree on record fell in California at 1.3 metres. The second largest fell at 1.2 metres. My friend in the other car was a bit worried about how the giant Sequoia National Park trees were going to manage their fall. This event really highlights the importance of a forest service.