Giant sequoia move on schedule in Idaho, tree doing well
Posted June 24, 2017 7:00 am
BOISE, Idaho (AP) - A massive Idaho tree that grew over more than a century from a seedling sent by a noted naturalist has been uprooted and is poised to travel about two blocks Sunday to a new location.
David Cox of tree-moving company Environmental Design said Saturday the 10-story sequoia is doing well, and everything is in place for the 800,000-pound (362,877-kilogram) landmark to start moving on inflatable rollers shortly after midnight.
St. Luke's Health System in Boise is paying $300,000 to relocate the tree to make room for an expansion.
Cox says if everything goes as planned, the sequoia will be at its new home on city property around noon Sunday.
The tree is believed to be Idaho's largest sequoia, a type of tree that isn't native to the state.
The sequoia was sent to Boise as a seedling by naturalist John Muir, who played a key role in establishing California's Sequoia National Park.
FILE -This Nov. 22, 2006, file photo a giant sequoia tree sits next to St. Luke's Hospital in downtown Boise, Idaho. The sequoia tree that was a seedling sent more than a century ago by naturalist John Muir to Idaho and planted in the yard has become an obstacle to progress. The 98-foot (30-meter) sequoia planted in 1912 that's in the way of the Boise hospital's expansion is being uprooted and moved about a block to city property starting Friday, June 23, 2017. (AP Photo/Troy Maben, File)
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An aerial view shows heavy machinery used by workers as they pruned the roots, built a burlap, plywood and steel-pipe structure to contain the rootball so they can move the roughly 100-foot sequoia tree in Boise, Idaho, Thursday, June 22, 2017. The sequoia tree sent more than a century ago by naturalist John Muir to Idaho and planted in a Boise medical doctor's yard has become an obstacle to progress. So the 98-foot (30-meter) sequoia planted in 1912 and that's in the way of a Boise hospital's expansion is being uprooted and moved about a block to city property this weekend. (AP Photo/Rebecca Boone)
The Associated Press
A roughly 100-foot sequoia tree is viewed looking upward from the base of the trunk in Boise, Idaho, Friday, June 23, 2017. The sequoia tree sent more than a century ago by naturalist John Muir to Idaho and planted in a Boise medical doctor's yard has become an obstacle to progress. So the sequoia planted in 1912 and that's in the way of a Boise hospital's expansion is being uprooted and moved about a block to city property this weekend. (AP Photo/Rebecca Boone)
The Associated Press
Workers prune the roots and built a burlap, plywood and steel-pipe structure to contain the rootball so they can move the roughly 100-foot sequoia tree In Boise, Idaho, Thursday, June 22, 2017. The sequoia tree sent more than a century ago by naturalist John Muir to Idaho and planted in a Boise medical doctor's yard has become an obstacle to progress. So the 98-foot (30-meter) sequoia planted in 1912 and that's in the way of a Boise hospital's expansion is being uprooted and moved about a block to city property this weekend. (AP Photo/Rebecca Boone)
The Associated Press
A roughly 100-foot sequoia tree sits on a platform made of steel pipe, chains, burlap, wood and other reinforcements as workers prepare to move it to a new location about a block away in Boise, Idaho Friday, June 23, 2017. Workers in Idaho are preparing to inflate rolling tubes beneath a massive sequoia that grew from a seed sent by naturalist John Muir. The more than century-old tree is in the final throes Friday of a complex effort to uproot it from the path of a Boise hospital's expansion and move it two blocks away to city property. If all goes according to plan, it will arrive at its new home Sunday. (AP Photo/Rebecca Boone)
The Associated Press
A roughly 100-foot sequoia tree sits on a platform made of steel pipe, chains, burlap, wood and other reinforcements as workers prepare to move it to a new location about a block away in Boise, Idaho, Friday, June 23, 2017. A network of wooden beams, chains and watering lines supports the 98-foot sequoia as workers prepare to move it to a new location a block away. The more than century-old tree is in the final throes Friday of a complex effort to uproot it from the path of a Boise hospital's expansion and move it two blocks away to city property. (AP Photo/Rebecca Boone)
The Associated Press
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