July 22, 2:11 pm. More browning. Temperature 117°

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Day Eight.

July 27, 3:30 pm. About half of all needles are now brown. Temperature 94°

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Day Thirteen.

August 10, 2:07 pm. 80-90% of all needles dead. Temperature 85°

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Day Twenty-Seven.

August 15, 4:15 pm. 90-95% of needles brown and dead. A few green needles popping out underneath. You need to look closely for them though! Temperature 88°

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Day Thirty-Two.

I would like to add these notes. Some people will say that it is possible for a tree snap to happen and the needles will stay green and the branch will not die. I agree with this. My son and I found a tree break up in the western Sierras in the summer of 2005. We revisited the site this last summer of 2006. The tree break was still green and there did not appear to be any dead areas. However, a close examination of the wood at the break showed some tell tale signs. The wood around the break had turned gray and it was clear that the outer layers of wood had been dead for some time. However, since the break was not a strong twist, there was enough connective tissue in the branch to continue growth and not wither. This is why a thorough investigation of the tree is needed before coming to any conclusions.