National Christmas Tree blown over

By Lori Aratani

High winds have blown over the National ChristmasTree, the majestic Colorado blue spruce that stood near the White House on the Ellipse, according to Bill Line, a spokesman for the National Park Service.

"At about 10:55 a.m. – with sustained winds of 25 miles per hour and 50 miles per hour sustained gusts that were highly unusual for Washington, D.C., the National Christmas Tree was toppled,'' Line reported. "There are no injuries. No one was hurt."



The 87th annual lighting of the National Christmas tree on December 9, 2010. (File photo: Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)

Line said the tree was a Colorado blue spruce from York, Pennsylvania, that was planted on the Ellipse in 1978. It was 46 years old and almost 42 feet tall at the time it was felled. It was scheduled to be mulched later in the afternoon on Saturday.

Line said that parks service officials have already identified a successor tree that will be brought to Washington in the next few weeks. He declined to release further details saying only that horiculturalists had conducted a nationwide search for a replacement tree -- well aware that the current tree would not stand forever.

"I would say we're sad, but we knew this would happen,'' Line said, noting that the previous two National Christmas Trees were also felled by winds. "Unlike in the forest, this tree was fully exposed [to the elements]. There was nothing to protect it."

The tree was donated by Mr. and Mrs. William E. Myers of York, Pennsylvania. The tree had been planted in the Myers' front yard by their grandchildren as a Mother's Day gift for Mrs. Myers.



