I-17 Mystery Christmas Tree
I-17 Mystery Christmas Tree | |
---|---|
Status | Inactive |
Genre | Christmas tree decoration |
Date(s) | Late November – early January |
Frequency | Annually |
Location(s) | I-17 in Yavapai County, Arizona |
Coordinates | 34°13′05″N 112°06′40″W / 34.218132°N 112.111170°W |
Country | United States |
Years active | c. 1980–2019 |
The I-17 Mystery Christmas tree is a living tree in the
Background
The 20-foot-tall (6.1 m)
The decorations are placed before Thanksgiving and removed after New Year's Day.[7] In 2011, a former ADOT district engineer who retired in 2005 said he knew who decorates the tree but honors their request to remain anonymous. Due to the danger of stopping on the highway, neither ADOT nor the Arizona Department of Public Safety formally condone the activity in the median.[8]
There are also patriotic decorations placed on the tree for the
Brush fires
The median is often the site of brush fires ignited by passing vehicles, and the tree has survived many of them. A fire in August 2011 was close enough to melt the tree's plastic irrigation system, but the tree was not seriously harmed even though the fire burned the surrounding vegetation[5] and scorched some of the tree's lower branches.[9] Some reports say the fire burned out on its own,[8] while others say the tree was helped by ADOT employees, as well as citizens and "a firefighter or two".[4]
ADOT employees say they "have seen the tree somehow survive over and over again".[5] The tree was saved again in August 2019 by firefighters.[6] The fire, however, left the tree too unstable to decorate. In 2021, Nancy Loftis of Phoenix revealed that she and her family had been decorating the tree and explained why they ended the tradition after the 2019 fire; she also expressed hope that the family would find a new tree to continue the tradition.[10]
Song
Dolan Ellis, Arizona's Official State Balladeer since 1966,[11][12] has composed a song about the tree that he named "Scrubby".[13]
See also
References
- ^ Johnston, Joy (November 24, 2019). "Mystery Christmas tree reappears in Arizona". Fox13. Memphis: WHBQ-TV. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
- ^ KPNX-TV. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
- ^ Wagner, Dennis (November 28, 2011). "Humble tree captures spirit of Christmas". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
- ^ a b c "Who Decorates the Mystery Tree on I-17 Near Sunset Point?". North Phoenix News. December 1, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
- ^ KTVK-TV/KPHO-TV. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
- ^ KJZZ-FM. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
- ^ a b c Arroyo Rodriguez, Nadine (December 20, 2013). "Did You Know: I-17 Tree Mysteriously Decorated Every Year". Phoenix: KJZZ-FM. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
- ^ a b "'Mystree,' I-17's Mysterious Tree" (PDF). Transend. Arizona Department of Transportation. Fall 2011. p. 9. Retrieved December 15, 2019 – via Arizona Memory Project.
- ^ Frank, BrieAnna J.; Curtis, Charles (August 16, 2019). "'Mystery Christmas Tree' saved during brush fire that closed part of I-17". Arizona Republic. Phoenix. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ Ellis, Dolan (February 15, 2019). "What History Has Taught Me: Dolan Ellis". True West Magazine. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
- ^ "Dolan Ellis, Arizona's Official State Balladeer". Scottsdale's Museum of the West. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
- ^ Santucci, Carolyn (December 13, 2018). "Ellis to explain tale of I-17 tree 'Scrubby'". SoCo A&E. Retrieved December 15, 2019.