Giant Christmas Tree Snaps During Hoisting (VIDEO)

ATLANTA -- It's the Drought That Stole Christmas.

Macy's at Atlanta's Lenox Mall must cut down a new Christmas tree after the 60-foot white pine selected for the holidays snapped while being hoisted atop the department store Sunday morning. Melissa Goff with Macy's said the store usually selects its tree from a Georgia forest, but drought conditions have made it difficult to find a healthy tree this year.

She said the 11,000-pound tree was from Douglas County. She said a backup tree has been selected and will be brought in this week.

The tree will be decorated between now and Thanksgiving Day, when the store will hold a lighting ceremony, a 63-year tradition.

It's not the first time the store has had to get a backup tree: the 2004 tree also broke.

Comments

[Adam Dray]

04:41 PM on 11/15/2011

Holy news worthy!! A tree broke!!! OMG that NEVER happens!!!

[carnivaluv]

08:05 AM on 11/15/2011

Why cut down a beautiful tree for Christmas anyway? It makes me sick that so many just don't care about the things that really matter. We need trees to live, why kill perfectly healthy trees? Kids don't care about them anymore. All they care about about is, how many presents they'll be receiving.

[Barringtonmorr]

01:00 PM on 11/15/2011

4 score ago my great great grandfather when he was a child .... only cared how many presents he would get for christmas. Kids haven't been caring for as long as the immature self-centered mind has existed

[Ray Russelburg]

01:46 PM on 11/15/2011

Maybe I shouldn't mention that I use a wood burner for heat in the winter time and cut down quite a few trees during to summer to season up for burning in the winter. I love the sound they make when they get ready to go over .... CCCcccrrrRRRRrrrRRRaaaAAAaaaaAACCCckckkkkkk ...... CRASH!!!!!

27 full sized pickup truck loads (stacked neatly to height of side rails and higher and we split it on site as we cut the tree down) of wood per winter for a LIGHT winter to heat our home.

Tree huggers hate us and we don't care cause we are WARM!!!!

[carnivaluv]

08:46 PM on 11/15/2011

Using trees to stay warm and alive is different than cutting a tree down for a Christmas tree.

[firstamendment3]

07:34 PM on 11/14/2011

The tree committed suicide rather than wind up at Macy's. I think IO would too.

[madcityy]

02:58 PM on 11/14/2011

VERYYYYYYYYYYYYY GREEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

[metusmetu]

02:48 PM on 11/14/2011

Don't buy any lumber that comes from Georgia.

[Barringtonmorr]

12:56 PM on 11/15/2011

Why georgia? We shouldn't buy lumber at all.

[Ray Russelburg]

01:48 PM on 11/15/2011

Why not? Your house has wood in it and you bought or rent it. Got a porch? There's wood in it.

[kaki40]

04:03 PM on 11/15/2011

Whats your home made out of? You sound just like the blow hard celebrities who scream about going green while traveling in there private jets...

[raanghaus]

12:40 PM on 11/14/2011

where is charlie brown

[jeromettaylor]

12:25 PM on 11/14/2011

It was uh....uh.......pre-existing condition.....yup...uh.huh.

[jnzcram]

12:22 PM on 11/14/2011

Its about time they used artificial trees and save our planet from the ravages of over development.

[Barringtonmorr]

12:57 PM on 11/15/2011

LOL ... Wouldn't artificial trees be exponentially worse for the environment?!

[Ray Russelburg]

01:54 PM on 11/15/2011

Sure wood! Pun intented. LOL.

Here are some ways they are worse:

1. They have plastics that are made from oil
2. They have metal in them.
A. To get the metal they rip great big holes in the ground and take out the ore.
the machinery they use for this burn diesel and release masive polution from it.
B. They have to rip more great big holes or dig coal out of the ground to fire the
power plants that power the mills.
C. They then MELT the metal into wires they put into the trees to shape it.
3. The use cardboard to package the trees in which is made from..... treeS.
4. Shipping it to the stores is done via Semi Tractor Trailors which runs on diesel which pollutes the air.

I will take the lessor of 2 evils and cut down a tree.
4. The directions how to assemble them is on paper which is made from .... TreeS

[Declan Fennelly]

11:43 AM on 11/14/2011

Someone needs to pay for that tree so perhaps it should be the government

Declan
http://www.partybanners.ie

[mlock2354]

11:16 AM on 11/14/2011

Geesh another mature tree must be cut down so it can be decorated for a few weeks. Thats sick IMO.

[LorettaLynn]

11:11 AM on 11/14/2011

Coulda been a lot worse...coulda been a 60 foot matza ball.

[kacj243]

10:07 AM on 11/14/2011

Don't need no stinkin' tree. Don't need no stinkin' holiiday. GO TO WORK AND MAKE MONEY! Welfare recipients are depending on YOU! Oh, and give more taxes to the government.

[billschmidt114]

10:04 AM on 11/14/2011

In my opinion, the government should pay for the damaged tree.

[ncinkman]

01:39 PM on 11/14/2011

Govco will be happy to pay for the tree........with your tax dollars. How you like them apples now?

[billschmidt114]

05:58 PM on 11/14/2011

Look around inkman.
More than half the people in this country aren't aware of that fact.

[chuckl4826]

02:17 PM on 11/14/2011

Are you stupid? WE the taxpayers are the government!

[metusmetu]

02:47 PM on 11/14/2011

AH-HA-HA-HA!

[billschmidt114]

06:00 PM on 11/14/2011

Look around Chuck.
More than half of the people in this country aren't aware of that fact.
Most future Americans coming out of school believe that the government has the money.

[Marian Bailey]

09:45 AM on 11/14/2011

Thankfully, it happened in a way that no one was injured.Good luck with the backup tree. happy Holodays, everyone.

[jacmed]

11:37 AM on 11/14/2011

I agree, Marian! And a Happy Chanumas to all!!!

[Glenda Barker]

08:10 AM on 11/14/2011

I can't help but wonder.. how many people do you think the $$ spent on these tree's could have fed?

[ebutler40216]

09:56 AM on 11/14/2011

Well let's see.. there are those that work at the tree farm, the families of the people that selected and cut the tree down, the people in the company that transported the tree, and people of the company that runs the hoist. So I would say the money spent on that tree fed quite a few people.

[jacmed]

11:41 AM on 11/14/2011

Good post, ebutler! People forget that the trees are all from tree farms (or should be!) because it's illegal to cut down a tree from a national forest or the like. Tree farms are a business, just like a grocery store.

[ncinkman]

01:41 PM on 11/14/2011

Yep, and straight from the tax payer's pockets.

[Adam Dray]

04:45 PM on 11/15/2011

Why is it the responsibility of those with money to have to feed the ones without? You can sit there and claim all sorts of 'Well this could help so and so' as much as you want by why is it their responsibility to do so? Just cause some people can't figure out a way to survive, doesn't mean those that are excelling at survival are responsible to...pick up the fat sorta speak......