Massive oak tree topples over in Fairfield Twp. neighborhood

FAIRFIELD TWP.

What may have been the third-largest tree in Butler County fell Tuesday night, as a five-foot wide oak tree crashed inches away from a backyard swimming pool.

No one was injured, but residents of the area mourn the loss of the giant oak, which had become a familiar part of the landscape. The tree, measuring about 60 feet tall with a 59-inch circumference, stood behind a home in the 3900 block of Carrington Way in Fairfield Twp.

Residents werent sure exactly why the tree fell at about 9 p.m. Tuesday, but the tree appeared to be rotting from the inside, said resident Bob Holion. Branches and fragments of the oak tree littered his backyard, but they didnt cause any damage except for crushing part of a neighbors fence.

The trees demise hit Randy Harper harder the tree was in his yard on Stony Brook Drive.

Ive got to be honest with you its like losing a family member, you know what I mean? Im in grief right now because its gone, he said.

Holion said the tree had been budding last year, so its fall was unexpected.

Im not sure there was a branch that didnt have leaves on it never thought it would fall, he said. There was no reason to think it was going to come down completely.

Susan Nordland lives in a home with a pool in the backyard a pool the tree just barely missed.

I heard a loud kind of noise. I thought it was thunder. And I said to my family, Theres the thunder they said we were going to get tonight. (But) I didnt see any lightning. So then I thought it was a big piece of ice that rolled off the roof and fell to the ground, she said.

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Massive oak tree topples over in Fairfield Twp. neighborhood