I have a Live Oak in front of the house I just bought. There were two but the other supposedly died in one of the hurricanes that came through. This one, the leaves are nice, plentiful, and green. But look at the trunk itself. It looks like lightning struck it or something. Is that it or is it some insect/disease? Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler
No idea but that doesn't look good. Was it damaged by something when it was younger (cause of some of that scarring). Got watch out for oak wilt as well depending on how bad you want to save it you might want to call an arborist
See those holes? I'd bet it's these little bastards: http://www.oakwilt.com/redoakborer.html Contact the arborist listed at the top of that page, send him a pic, he'll probably help you.
No idea what might have happened to it previously, as I've only been in the house 3 months. I'll send these pictures to the guy you suggested and see if he knows. Maybe I should try to sniff the bark to see if it smells burnt too. lol
I had oak bores that killed my best oak and it didn't look like the OP's photos. From what the arborist told me, they bore from within and don't leave much evidence on the outside. They kill quick, I know that. Last spring, my oak filled out and a few weeks later, starting dropping leaves. Literally, within a few days, it was dead.
I've thankfully never had to deal with oak bores up here, but we have a kind that is hell on pecan/peach/apricot trees and they made holes like in that pic; that's what made me think that might be it.
