A famous California sequoia tree estimated to be more than 1,000 years old toppled in a giant storm over the weekend, the Calaveras Big Tree Association reports. Known as the "Pioneer Cabin" tree, the sequoia had a tunnel carved into it 135 years ago that was big enough for cars, horses, and people to pass through:
A photo posted by Bev (@bev_sf) on Jan 8, 2017 at 11:20pm PST
"When I went out there [Sunday afternoon], the trail was literally a river, the trail is washed out," volunteer Jim Allday told SFGate. "I could see the tree on the ground, it looked like it was laying in a pond or lake with a river running through it."
While tunnel trees were popular attractions in the 19th century, the act of carving a tunnel damages the sequoia — Pioneer Cabin was "barely alive," said Jim Allday's wife and fellow park volunteer Joan Allday.
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There are no other living tunnel tree sequoias left, NPR reports. Only three other tunnel trees, all coastal redwoods, remain in California.
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