Trouble For Three-Top

The big white fir has been growing three tops for the last ten years or so. It has graced the area near the close log landing for many more years than we have been on the place and we were hoping that it would hang around for quite a few more years.
This spring we noticed that it had not grown strong leaders (the main branch at top of the tree that adds height as it grows). This year showed only an inch or two of growth where it had been adding close to a foot each year.
Then when the hot summer weather began, the evidence that the tree was failing started to show on one of the tops.
Now it is clear that the tops will not survive through the summer and the tree will have to come down.
It’s sad to see the old tree struggle. The extra dry spring and summer is showing up as stressed trees in the forest. It could have started two years ago with the long, dry spell and is now just showing up in this tree.