Question
In a recent storm in Merced California, the huge raywood ash tree across the street fell crushing my trailer and damaging my boat. I understand they are great trees resistant to most diseases, but the heartwood of this tree was completely black. The roots were still intact; the tree just broke and came down almost hitting my mother in the driveway. I was wondering if this is a disease I should worry about with the other trees in my neighborhood or something that could have been fixed before it destroyed my property. Thank you so much for your time.

Answer
The inside wood of trees are many color usually depending on the minerals in the soil and the species of tree. IF the wood is solid and hard not mushy or a nail can easily be pushed into it the tree is not decayed and this did not cause the tree to fall. You did not say whether the tree was up rooted or broke. If it was up rooted then there was a problem with the root system or the space it was growing in was too small for the root to grow to support the tree. If it broke off and the wood is solid at the break it was just problem with the wind storm and not a health issue with the other tree. I would not worry about this happening again with healthy trees.