3,500-year-old tree, one of world’s oldest, burns down
January 16, 2012 2:32PM
A Seminole County firefighter foams down what is left of "The Senator," a 3,500-year-old cypress tree that burned in Big Tree Park in Longwood, Fla., Monday, Jan. 16, 2012. Seminole County Fire Rescue spokesman Steve Wright told the Orlando Sentinel that
Article Extras
LONGWOOD, Fla. (AP) — Firefighters say one of the world’s oldest cypress trees has caught fire and collapsed in central Florida.
It’s unknown what caused a 118-foot-tall bald cypress tree named “The Senator” to catch fire early Monday.
Seminole County Fire Rescue spokesman Steve Wright tells the Orlando Sentinel the tree burned for several hours from the inside out.
Firefighters arrived around 5:50 a.m. and pulled more than 800 feet of hose through the woods to the fire. Wright says a 20-foot section of the tree fell off around 7:45 a.m., and the tree collapsed a half-hour later.
According to the county’s parks and preservation department, “The Senator” was roughly 3,500 years old.
Parks officials say the tree reached a height of 165 feet before a 1925 hurricane lopped off its top.
Comments Click here to view or make a comment