Hi-

Looking for some net.wisdom here. I know I should probably be calling a
"certified arborist", but after yesterday, I suspect all the one's in
the Seattle area have bigger fish to fry for the next few weeks...

We had a very unusual, northly windstorm yesterday (prevailing bad
weather here is from the south). One of two White Birches in our front
yard developed a significant (say, 20 degree) list, and pulled the
ground on the upwind side up by a foot or so.

As an emergency measure, a couple of neighbors and I guyed the tree to a
pair of 4x4 fence posts that were nearby using come-alongs. Using the
come-alongs, I was able to reduce the list by 5 or 10 degrees.

This tree is about 40 feet tall, and maybe 8-10 inches in diameter at
the widest point of the trunk. There's no outwardly observable damage to
the trunk. As I said, the roots on the upwind side have been uprooted
somewhat. Anybody have an educated guess as to if this tree can be
saved? I'm guessing that I can gradually bring it back towards vertical
by tightening the come-alongs and inch or so a day. But I'm concerned
that the tree will never be stable again, and that it might have
suffered hidden damage.

Thanks in advance,

-dm