The Pioneer Cabin tree was one of several “tunnel trees” that had been carved out and served as human amusements. The tree’s exact age and height were not immediately available, but sequoias can measure their ages in millennia and grow taller than 100 yards, or more than the length of a football field.
Pioneer Cabin Tree, seen here in 1923.
The tree fell as parts of California and Nevada were drenched by a seasonal weather system known as the Pineapple Express, an “atmospheric river” that extends across the Pacific from Hawaii to the US West Coast, meteorologists say.
The storm was “just too much for it”, says Calaveras Big Trees Association in a Facebook post that has drawn nearly 2,000 comments.
“Many memories were created under this tree,” one read.
“They will remain good memories.”
Others pointed out that the tree might have survived for longer if a tunnel had not been carved into it.
“You can’t cut a hole in a tree like this and expect it to live,” said one comment.
“This hole always bothered me so much. Why not just drive around it?”
Park volunteer Jim Allday said the sequoia, also known as the Tunnel Tree, shattered as it hit the ground.
“We lost an old friend today,” he wrote in a social media post.
Giant sequoia are closely related to the redwood tree, which is considered the tallest tree species on earth, reaching 250ft (76 metres). They only grow in the groves of California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range.
H/T BBC
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