California storm topples famed 'drive-through' tunnel tree

An ancient giant sequoia treewith ahollowed-out tunnel big enough for cars to drive throughwastoppled over the weekend by floods following a series ofpowerful rain storms in central and northern California.

The historic Pioneer Cabin Tree, named for the tunnel thatwas carved out of its base in the 1880s, came crashing down in Calaveras BigTrees State Park in Calaveras County, a nonprofit groupassociated with the park said on Sunday.

The trail around the tree was flooded due to severe rain, and forecasters expect another 15 cm of rain to soak parts of California and the Sierra Nevada mountains through early Tuesday.

"The Pioneer Cabin tree has fallen! This iconic and still living tree the tunnel tree enchanted many visitors," the Calaveras Big Trees Association said on its Facebook page. "The storm was just too much for it."

The tree was along a 2.4 kmtrail. Graffitidating back to the 1800swereetched inside its tunnel walls. Inrecent yearsonly hikers were allowed to pass through thetunnel, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Age of the tree unknown

People were walking through the tunnel as recently as Sundaymorning before the tree came down, park volunteer Jim Allday told the San Francisco Chronicle. It fell around2 p.m.local time and shattered on impact, he said.

"When I went out there [Sunday afternoon], the trail wasliterally a river.The trail is washed out," Allday told the
newspaper. "I could see the tree on the ground;it looked likeit was laying in a pond or lake with a river running through it."

The age of the tree could not immediately be confirmed onMonday.

Giant sequoias can live for more than 3,000 years andare known as the largest trees in the world by volume, accordingto the U.S. National Park Service.

Not the 1st 'drive-through' tree to fall

The sequoia likely fell because of a combination of theflood waters and a shallow root system, the Chronicle said.

The tree was an icon that captivated the park's 200,000annual visitors. Thousands ofFacebook users commented onthe Calaveras Big Trees Association's posts about the tree, sharingmemories and photos.

Another famous "drive-through" tree, the Wawona Tunnel Treein Yosemite National Park, fell during the winter of 1969.

• Northern Nevada, California hit by heavy rains, mudslides