Pine Tree looks like lightning hit the top

Caramel

Hello,

We just bought a house at the end of June and moved in within the past few months. There is a large pine tree in front of the house. We noticed that the top of the tree is dead and after looking at it more closely, it appears that lightning has struck it. A sear line can be seen going down the bark on one side and it stops at a large branch that is cracked away from the trunk and is now resting on a large lower branch.

My concern is that if the tree were to be struck by lightning again, and it caught on fire, the fire could easily spread to the roof of the house, especially with the top now being dead and dried out. The tree is the tallest object in the immediate vicinity and seems to be the most likely target if lightning were to hit anything around here again.

The rest of the tree below the broken branch appears to be alive and doing well as it still bears new pine cones.

Would you suggest having the top of the tree cut off and the broken branch removed or would this kill the rest of the tree? I'd rather just have the tree cut than be entirely removed, but I don't know what the best course of action is to take.

Note that I do not know for how long the tree has been like that. We didn't notice the top was dead before we moved in because the tree is very tall.

Apocalypsse

Can we get some pics of the pine? Makes giving advice heaps easier.

Eric Frei

Yeah, cutting the trunk down to just above a branch is common, also prune off the broken branch.

Over time the top could die back more. Might look pretty weird pruned though, and will grow weird in the future as one of the branches will assume apical dominance, also you'll get some decay up there.

Might get hit by lightning again too, if retaining you may want to consider a lightning hit kit.

Pics please.

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