The iconic ‘Pioneer Cabin Tunnel Tree’, collapsed on Sunday January 8th, 2017, around two p.m. The tree was at least 1000 years old. The exact height of the tree is not known yet but it was around 250 feet tall.

The tunnel tree was in the redwood forests in California. It is called the tunnel tree because there was a big hole in the trunk of the tree that cars could drive through. A volunteer named Joan Allday said “It was barely alive, there was one branch alive at the top. But it was very brittle and starting to lift.”

The final cause of death is unknown yet but giant sequoia’s roots are very shallow and were not able to withstand the massive amount of rain and snow. Also the giant hole cut out of the tree made it less stable in the storm.