Central Florida landmark goes out in a blaze

Central Florida landmark goes out in a blaze…..

 
Whether a tree-hugger, a nature lover or a historian of sorts, the news that a fire has destroyed a 3,500-year-old Central Florida landmark is devastating.   Early Monday, a fire destroyed a 125-foot-tall, bald cypress tree known as “The Senator,” the centerpiece of Longwood’s Big Tree Park.  “The Senator” was the tallest cypress tree in the United States, believed to be the oldest of its kind in North America, and the fifth oldest tree in the world. 

Considered the largest tree of any species east of the Mississippi River, the Senator was one of central Florida’s leading attractions before the arrival of the region’s theme parks.  In fact, according to county historians, the tree was estimated to be 165 feet tall before a hurricane took off the top in 1925.  The tree’s estimated age of 3500 years was determined in 1946 when the American Forestry Association bore a small hole in the Senator and obtained a core sample.  The Senator, as it was called, was named for the man who donated what is now Big Tree Park to Seminole County in 1927, Moses Oscar Overstreet, a state senator from 1920 to 1925.

According to investigators, the tree was so old and hollow that it burned from the inside out.  Within two hours, it was burned to the ground.  Once the tree collapsed, the fire spread through the surrounding brush approximately 30 feet away from the tree, but did not spread to any neighboring trees, including “The Senator’s” sister tree, the 89-foot-tall “Lady Liberty.” 

Officials with Seminole Fire Rescue said they do not believe the fire is the result of arson, and there was no lightning in the area Monday morning.  It was just reported by a passer-by around 5:45 a.m. yesterday.  When Seminole County Fire Rescue arrived they could not save “The Senator”, even after crews laid over 800 feet of hose just to get to the tree.  The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, as well as local law enforcement, have launched an investigation, which is still ongoing.  Because the tree is considered a national landmark, the person responsible could face federal penalties.  It is too early in the investigation, however, to be certain.