Saturday's Derecho Uproots Brighton's 'Christmas Tree'
BRIGHTON, Colo. (CBS4) - An exceptionally rare derecho that swept across Colorado ripped out Brighton's so-called Christmas tree on Saturday. It stood outside the Historic City Hall.
The tree was regularly decorated for the holidays.
The City's Open Space Manager Kyle Sylvester tells CBS4 the Blue Spruce was between 80 and 90 years old and stood 60-70 feet tall. It did not cause any damage to the building.
Sylvester says the tree has some electrical power still connected to it, so they are waiting for a power company to remove the line before they remove the tree.
Cleanup is expected to take a couple of trees.
Sylvester says the city plans to replace the tree and could have a new tree by fall.
A derecho is a long-lived line of severe thunderstorms that produces consistent wind damage along its path. It must be at least 60 miles wide and travel for a distance of at least 250 miles.
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center tweeted early Sunday that in written weather history there are only two other instances of a derecho being documented west of the Rocky Mountains.
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