It seems that a miracle has occurred! The Eaton fire took down everything in its path except for the cedars on Christmas Tree Lane. Santa Rosa Avenue, also known as “Christmas Tree Lane,” has 135 cedars, and they weren’t bothered by the Eaton fire at all. They suffered some losses with a few branches torn away due to the Santa Ana winds, but overall, the trees remain in good shape. The good news is that the fires will not stop the city’s tree lighting celebration that they have every year.
In 50 years, residents never experienced the kind of fire that they experienced recently, but the only thing that they witnessed was not the fire. They also heard several explosions that they believed were canisters of fuel blowing up around them. These neighbors weren’t prepared for the dust and embers that the fires brought from the Los Angeles National Forest.
Evacuations Finally Come
Tony and Maureen Ward were ordered to evacuate at 5:00 a.m., but when they returned on Thursday, they were pleased to see that their house was still in place. Many houses on Santa Rosa Avenue were not so lucky, but the cedars that have been standing since the 1880s are counted as some of the lucky ones. They continue to stand amidst all of the destruction.
Why Didn’t the Cedars Burn?
No one can answer this question, but someone tried. Christian Mace of Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation stated that the cedars were extremely luscious and green. That may have been because the town gave these trees a sufficient amount of water, and that is how they could have survived such a tumultuous fire. According to Mr. Mace, the trees were not dry and brittle, which is the reason that so much vegetation burned in the area. In addition to that, cedar bark is relatively fire resistant according to Christian Mace.
The Christmas Tree Lane Association tends to the cedars regularly, but homeowners who have cedars on their properties make sure that they take care of them as well. Scott Wardlaw is president of the Christmas Tree Lane Association, and he stated that the association made a point of giving the cedars extra water during the drought, so he was also in a position to tell homeowners that they should not water the trees too much. Too much water can cause Armillaria root disease, which is a particularly treacherous type of root rot.
The Celebration's Beginning
The community takes its duty seriously to preserve these cedars because Christmas Tree Lane would cease to exist without them. The community began to place lights on these trees in 1920, and this contributes to the small town ambiance of the area where visitors are offered hot chocolate as they gaze upon the trees and listen to local legislators’ speeches. It isn’t a high-tech display, and there isn’t any music, but thousands of people still come to observe the special scene that the lighted cedars create.
Now, all that Mr. Wardlaw would like to do is move on to find out what needs to be done so that he can put the pieces in place. He knows that he is going to need volunteers to clear away the broken branches and that they will need to replace the broken lights. The volunteers are likely to be many people who lost homes in the area, but Mr. Wardlaw says that participating in the clean-up will be an act of defiance for residents.
He stated, “Something I want to do, if it’s feasible, is turn the lights on again as soon as possible. Just so we can say, ‘We’re still here.’”
