Well first, I have to commend you for such a great handle.
I love Talisker on a cold night. Not you of course. LOL
Your “event” took place in the Redwoods? You live here in the Bay Area?
As for the tree, had a similar incident in Felton when I was 14. The neighbor called screaming about some gigantic “crash” with a thud.
We couldn’t figure out what happened but I can tell you it was harrowing.
The tree fell into his barbeque pit around 4 in the afternoon.
Very sobering to see all those branches hammered into the ground like fence posts.
If he and his family had been cooking that day could have been something awful. We all imagined being impalled by a branch and stuck, right there in the ground.
On the positive side we got 3 cords of wood after a week of chainsaws, axes and a very helpful neighbor who lent us his gas powered splitter.
You should read The Wild Trees by Richard Preston.
Fascinating book about Redwoods, trying to find the tallest, climbing and camping in them, and how they fall and break without warning.
Most amazing chapter to me discussed how, because the Redwood splits into multiple trunks over 200' above the ground, it creates giant concave areas of wood that are entire environments with soil, year-round ponds, and animal life like salamanders above 200'.
They aren't aboreal creatures, but terrestrial creatures that shouldn't have simply appeared 200' above ground. Some species live only in the the Redwood canopy.
Sorry, I but I digress. Carry on talking about the eerie image.