Natural Resources at Muir Woods NM
Kent Tree
Plants
and Plant-like life
(coming soon!
Mammals
(coming soon!)
Amphibians
and Reptiles
(coming soon!)
Kent
Tree Falls
Famous Large Fir Tree Crashes to Earth
The Kent Tree, which had been cracking visibly since early January, fell to the ground on Tuesday, March 18, at 8:28 p.m.
The Kent Tree was a Douglas Fir favored by Muir Woods benefactor William Kent. It was once the tallest tree in the Monument, topping out at over 280 feet tall. In the El Niño storms of 1981-82, the tree lost about 40 feet of its top.
The
tree has been leaning for over a hundred years, but in early January
of 2003, park staff and visitors noticed a fissure opening in the
uphill side of the tree. Over the next several weeks, the fissure
began to widen, and by early February park staff decided to close
the Fern Creek Trail, which passes under the leaning tree, to the
public.
Storms in November and December of 2002 brought heavy winds and storms to Muir Woods, felling several smaller trees. On the evening of March 18, the park's spotted owl monitoring team was in the woods. While most of the team met inside the administrative offices, one volunteer outside heard the thundering crash, at precisely 8:28 p.m. The team went out to check on the source of the noise, and as they predicted, the Kent Tree had fallen.
On its way down, the Kent tree's fall was cushioned by a young redwood tree. As it crashed across Fern Creek, it took the top halves of two smaller (2-foot diameter) redwood trees, as well as the branches and tops off of several taller trees. It splintered into many pieces on the other side of the creek, spreading debris.
The Fern Creek Trail has now been rerouted around the tree and is open to the Lost Trail intersection (the trail is closed from that point to Camp Alice Eastwood due to a damaged bridge).
Check out media coverage
of the fall:
Marin Independent Journal
San
Francisco Chronicle