A Man Cuts Down One of His Trees, Authorities Immediately Quarantine His Entire Property

Wood for Heating

Peter used to cut down trees. His vast property had many tree species that could be useful to him. Fortunately, Peter only needed a few each winter to fill his fireplace and keep warm. He had never had any issues with this annual tradition until that day.

It took Peter a long time to walk through his forest on foot, so he usually used his truck to get around, taking the many rocky paths in the area. It was time for his annual trip to cut down a few trees and get his firewood. Little did he know that this trip would be unlike any other.

Strategic Choices

There were several tree varieties on his property, so Peter tried to cut them down each year in an equal manner to preserve the ecosystem. He also chose trees that were far apart from each other and avoided those on the forest edge. He didn't want the forest's appearance to be altered too much.

There was one tree that Peter had been wanting to cut down for some time. Until then, he hadn't felt ready to cut it down. He had been telling himself every year that he would let it grow for one more year, allowing it to become large enough to last through several winters. He had been saying this for years, but today was the big day.

Getting to Work

Peter finally stopped in front of the large oak tree in question. It was bigger than the last time he had seen it. As he looked at it, he almost felt a sense of pride, but he needed firewood for the winter. With his axe in hand, he began striking the tree trunk. That's when things started to go wrong.

Blow after blow, Peter struck the tree trunk, but it didn't seem to do much damage. He put more force into it and continued to cut. It made very little difference. Peter began to wonder if he would be able to fell the oak tree.

Something Strange

Peter continued to strike the tree with great force, but it wasn't until the third blow that he made real progress. Peter pushed his tool into the notch he had already made in the tree trunk and turned it a bit, tearing off the bark and creating a small hole.

Peter moved closer to the tree, trying to see into the hole he had just made. It seemed that the tree was hollow all the way through. He was about to strike the hole again with his axe when he was abruptly stopped. He was far from imagining what would happen next, but it was about to change everything.

Water!

Before Peter could look into the hole, water gushed out at a rapid pace. It was as if someone had turned on a high-powered hose. Peter jumped back to avoid getting soaked and remained completely confused. How could a tree turn into a real fountain?

The grass around the tree was quickly flooded and turned into thick mud. If Peter didn't move his truck quickly, it would get stuck in the mud. But how far should he move it? How much water would come out of this tree? Peter had no idea, but he had to act quickly before his truck got stuck.

Risk of Flooding

Peter moved his truck further down the road and decided to run to the tree. When he finally returned to the mysterious source, it was as if the water flow had increased. Peter didn't know what to do. His entire property would be flooded if he didn't find a solution to stop this water from flowing. But what could he do?

With nothing else in mind, Peter called the firefighters. If anyone knew how to handle this kind of situation, it was them. Peter wasn't sure if they would show up, but after explaining the situation to them, he was quite surprised by their response.

Immediate Reaction

The firefighters dispatched several trucks to his property. Peter wasn't exactly sure why, but it seemed like they were taking the situation very seriously, which Peter was grateful for. He didn't want his property to be flooded, but he still didn't know how the firefighters were going to solve the problem.

On the phone, the firefighters told Peter that he should move as far away from the tree as possible. Together, they decided on a meeting point on the property, one of the closest old roads to the tree but also far enough away. Peter managed to take a quick photo of the tree before leaving and then headed to the meeting point.

In Urgency

The fire truck arrived at the edge of the property before Peter. He could hear them coming from the end of the road. Their sirens, as well as their flashing lights, were on. They had obviously rushed here, but why? Sure, the situation was unusual, but couldn't they just stop the water with one of their hoses? Why did they seem so worried?

No fewer than six firefighters jumped out of one of the trucks. The fire chief was among them. He approached Peter and asked him in which direction the tree was, even though the small stream of water flowing around the property provided a sufficient answer. The firefighters headed towards the tree and asked Peter to stay back. The chief wanted to hear his story.

Telling What Happened

Peter wanted to follow the firefighters and help if he could. After all, it was his house, and he didn't want to leave all the work to others. But the chief insisted that he stay back and explain what had happened. Peter told the story and waited for an explanation from the chief on what the firefighters were going to do.

But Peter didn't receive a clear explanation. All they could tell him was that they were going to quarantine the property as quickly as possible. They gave Peter an hour to return home and gather his belongings. His family would have to leave for at least a week. Peter couldn't believe it, but he couldn't really go against the orders of the fire chief.

Packing Up

Peter had many questions, but obviously, the chief was not in the mood to answer them. He quickly walked away to join the other firefighters, leaving Peter to go back to his house. He called his wife Melinda on the way and asked her to start packing up. He told her that he would explain everything upon arrival, but his wife wanted answers immediately.

Peter wasn't even sure where his family would stay, but he knew they had to start packing up, and quickly. An hour later, the firefighters were at the door insisting that Peter and his family leave immediately. Peter was ready to leave, but Melinda refused to leave before getting an explanation.

Time to Leave

After about 10 minutes of futile arguing, Melinda relented, and the family left the property. As they left, Peter noticed that the water flow had stopped, and the firefighters were busy setting up a tent around the tree. What was going on?

The family eventually ended up at Melinda's parents' house, just outside of town. The firefighters had told them that they could likely return home in about a week and that everything would be resolved by then. A week seemed like a lot to fix something that didn't seem too serious at first.

That Night

Peter had no intention of waiting that long. He wanted to know what was happening on his property. So that night, he decided to take a look at the quarantined area. He knew he wasn't allowed to be there, and it was probably quite dangerous. But he didn't care; he wanted answers.

To his disappointment, he found that the area, especially the tent set up around the tree, was constantly monitored by the authorities, even in the middle of the night. Regardless of it being his property, the guards had strict orders. No one could approach the tree. It was as if they were guarding a secret.

Leaving Without Answers

Disappointed, Peter returned to Melinda's parents' house and went to bed. He had only one option left to find out what was happening. And he was determined to make a very specific phone call the next morning. He wouldn't hesitate for a second.

In reality, if Peter hadn't hesitated to call the firefighters when his tree suddenly started releasing water, it was because he knew the fire chief very well. He had known him at the tennis club. He was a family friend who had always been there for Peter and his family.

The Fire Chief

The fire chief had always told him that if something happened on his property, Peter could and should call him. But since he had reported his situation, he hadn't received any explanation from his friend. It was as if he was deliberately avoiding him.

When Peter finally managed to reach him the next morning, he could sense from his friend's tone that something was off. When he asked for an explanation, the chief hesitated but finally asked him to come to the fire station. It was his chance to find out everything for himself.

During the trip, Peter wondered what could be so important about his property. No reasonable explanation came to mind. But the chief would eventually reveal the whole truth to him. He had to, he couldn't keep it from Peter any longer.

Arrival at the Chief's Office

When Peter entered the fire station, he was directed to an office on the second floor where the chief was waiting. The man looked serious, and his desk had a map of Peter's neighborhood.

Before uttering a word or shaking hands with his friend, Peter located his property on the map on the table. But the map was somewhat different from the ones he had seen before. Was it a map from the past? The document didn't look modern.

Explanations

Peter then turned to the chief, and he began to explain. As soon as Peter had informed his firefighter friend about where he was about to live, he had understood that the water leak would only be a matter of time. That's why he had asked Peter to let him know if something happened.

Apparently, there was a large unrecorded water basin right under Peter's property, like a hidden lake that had slowly but constantly filled with groundwater. It was certainly the source of the water that had gushed out of the tree.

An Emergency Supply

The government and firefighters were aware of its existence and had decided to use it as an emergency reserve in case of a drought, which was not uncommon in the region. They could never have expected someone to empty it by cutting down a tree!

They had thus set up a water extraction point a few meters from Peter's house. The water was transported to the nearby water refinement facility. But all this had been unnecessary for years, and some people had even forgotten about it. The neighborhood had never been informed.

Avoiding Costs

After years of abandonment, the underground reservoir had surely filled up. And when Peter had cut down the tree, he had created a small opening leading to the basin, which was enough to release all the accumulated pressure and create that flood. The authorities had then hesitated to inform Peter about the situation.

The reason the chief had wanted to hide the truth from Peter about the existence of this basin was that it was mostly on his land, and the government wanted to avoid having to pay Peter if they used the water from the basin. This created a whole new problem for the local government but a real opportunity for Peter.

Reaching an Agreement

Eventually, Peter managed to reach an agreement with the local government. He wouldn't charge them for the water as long as the authorities took care of the damages to his property caused by the flood. Peter was satisfied with this arrangement.

The authorities also started checking the water pressure in the basin more regularly to prevent incidents like this from happening again. With any luck, this issue was now a thing of the past.

This story is a work of fiction created for entertainment purposes. The characters and events are the product of the author's imagination. The images presented are used for illustrative purposes only.