Iconic tunnel tree in Calaveras Big Trees park falls in Sunday’s storm

The Pioneer Cabin Tree, a favorite photo spot for more than a century in Calaveras Big Trees State Park, fell during Sunday’s storm.

“This iconic and still living tree – the tunnel tree – enchanted many visitors,” reads a post on the Facebook page of the Calaveras Big Trees Association. “The storm was just too much for it.”

The Pioneer Cabin Tree was one of the most prominent features in the North Grove of Sierra redwoods in the park. The giant sequoia was hollowed out in the 1880s to allow tourists to pass through it. At one point, horses and then cars could pass through it, but in more recent years, the path has been for pedestrians only.

When the Wawona Tunnel Tree in Yosemite National Park was carved, the owners of the North Grove responded by doing the same. The Pioneer Cabin Tree was chosen because of its wide base – about 22 feet in diameter. It had the widest trunk in the park’s North Grove, said California State Parks Supervising Ranger Tony Tealdi. It also was chosen because its trunk already had a hole from fire damage, Tealdi said. The sequoias don’t heal themselves after damage like that, they send all their nutrients to the treetop, he said.

The tree reportedly fell about 2 p.m. Sunday. Though the park was open, there were no witnesses to it, Tealdi said. People working in the visitors center didn’t hear or feel a thing when the giant toppled, he said. Park docent Jim Allday of Arnold was taking a walk on the trail and made the discovery.

The tree fell onto the trail, and because the wood of sequoias easily splits, the top shattered as it hit the ground, Tealdi said. There’s no estimate on how tall the roughly 2,000-year-old tree was.

The tree did not snap where the tunnel was carved, but rather uprooted. The North Grove trail is closed as environmental scientists assess the tree, Tealdi said. The trail will be rerouted because the Pioneer Cabin Tree will be left where it lies.

“You have to look at the life cycle of these trees,” he said. “... At this point in time, the next part of its life cycle is on the ground, as a habitat for animals and insects. It’s still a producing factor in nature – it also helps with greenhouse gases.”

The park remains open with about 25 campsites available. It got nearly 8 inches of rain over the weekend, Tealdi said, and about 6 inches of snow already on the ground is melting with the rainfall. There is standing water throughout the trail.

The Pioneer Cabin Tree’s shallow root system, combined with the inundation from the rain, likely contributed to its fall.

The loss of the tree has made news internationally. Tealdi said he’s received calls from Russian media and the BBC. “It’s a sad day, and we’ve seen goosebumps thinking about that tree that went down,” Tealdi said, “but it is part of the life cycle.”

For updates on the North Grove Trail, Tealdi suggested people check in at parks.ca.gov.

For more, visit the Facebook pages of Calaveras Big Trees State Park and the Calaveras Big Trees Association.

This story was originally published January 9, 2017 at 7:08 AM with the headline "Iconic tunnel tree in Calaveras Big Trees park falls in Sunday’s storm."