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Olde Town Arvada Christmas Tree Succumbs To Ferocious Wind

ARVADA, Colo. (CBS4) - With winds still whipping, Aiden and Axel Sakich were some of the youngest Arvada residents to stop in Olde Town Arvada square after learning the town Christmas tree was blown over.

"Every year we took pictures under the tree when my mom sewed us little jackets," Axel said.

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(credit: CBS)

Ben Miller works downtown and says the wind gusts were up and down throughout the day, knocking over booths for the holiday mart. They were powerful enough to make him nervous about where he parked.

"I called my girlfriend, 'hey can you move the car?' There are some ornaments flying off and then the whole thing went over, and I called her back and said 'yeah there's no rush,'" he laughed.

Arvada police Detective David Snelling says officers and city parks staff responded quickly and no one was injured when the tree came down.

"It was a big part of Olde Town," Snelling said. He says it was an Arvada landmark. "A gathering place."

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(credit: CBS)

For years it had been the center of their holiday kick off and heart of so many community memories

"One of our officers was sharing a story of him and his wife are natives. He became an Arvada police officer and sometime around the time he was in the academy he came down and proposed to his wife in front of this tree," Snelling shared.

While the tree may be lost, the Christmas spirit is, not and community members with lots of time to make new memories are certain they'll see a replacement soon.

"I would probably be like about 19 or something when the new tree is about that tall," Sakich said.

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