The district council has identified several hazardous roadways around the Upper Clutha where tall trees are a potential problem.
The QLDC conducted a district-wide survey to identify hazardous trees after the death of Queenstown man Russell Albert Liggett (57) in September 2009.
Mr Liggett died when a poplar tree was blown over and fell on the cab of his ute as he drove along Lower Shotover Rd.
High wind which has blasted through Wanaka in the past few days brought the poplar tree down across Orchard Rd on Thursday evening.
Nearby resident Johnny Mayen labelled rows of tall poplar trees in the area a "death-trap waiting to happen".
He was one of the first to come across the toppled tree on his way home.
Orchard Rd resident Rick McNeilly said he tried to cut up the tree with his chainsaw but was hampered by its sheer size.
QLDC roading network manager Michael Wardell said the council was chasing up private property owners to attend to any identified dangerous trees, which either need to be topped or felled.
Dangerous trees - at a risk of falling - located on roadside reserve, or bordering private property boundaries and roads, were a responsibility which needed to be addressed, he said.
"There are a lot of ageing trees around the district. It is certainly an issue we have to deal with," Mr Wardell said.
If a property-owner did not attend to identified hazardous trees "on behalf of the council", as advised, they could be liable for failing to act on a known danger, if something serious happened, Mr Wardell said.
Other Wanaka roads identified as hazardous because of tall ageing trees are Riverbank Rd, Cardrona Valley Rd, and Gladstone Rd, in Hawea Flat.
