California neighbors save 350-year-old redwood at the last minute

A redwood tree in a small Northern California town was spared from destruction last week after local residents rallied around the 252-foot-tall tree. Cal Fire is now investigating whether the agency improperly gave its own employee the right to cut the tree down. 

Read more Nevada’s bleakest tourist destination cancels tours through 2026

Last week’s reprieve comes after months of controversy surrounding the property in the Humboldt County town of Redway. Cal Fire had previously given permission to property owner Robert Scarlett to cut the tree down, and the county had cleared the way for it, but then locals questioned if the removal was legal.

A group of Redway residents, including children, halted the latest attempt to take the tree down by gathering near the property on April 30, according to the Lost Cost Outpost. Local law enforcement determined it was too dangerous to take the tree down near the group, so the county told Scarlett he would need to get an encroachment permit to shut the road down before he could remove the tree. 

Then on May 4, local residents sent a letter to the county warning that issuing an encroachment permit and allowing Scarlett to remove the tree would expose the county to legal risk because the county had ignored its own requirements to protect the tree, according to the Times-Standard. John Ford, the Humboldt County director of planning, had previously said that a local permit wasn’t necessary because Cal Fire had issued a hazardous tree exemption, which supersedes the local protections, but later Ford and the county backtracked and said that a local permit would be required. 

Cal Fire is now investigating the circumstances surrounding the potential tree removal because Scarlett is an employee of the agency. 

“CAL FIRE is closely following the public’s concerns regarding the State-permitted tree removals in the Redway community of Humboldt County,” Eric Huff, the deputy director for natural resource management, told SFGATE by email. “CAL FIRE’s actions in this matter and the concerns expressed by the local community and their representatives are being carefully reviewed, and is committed to working with Humboldt County to ensure alignment with local ordinances is lasting and well understood.”

Read more Giants beat the scuffling Dodgers 9-3 as Devers and Adames spark a 7th-inning surge

Ford confirmed to SFGATE that Scarlett is now seeking two permits: a special permit for tree removal and an encroachment permit to shut down the road. Ford told the Lost Cost Outpost it would take at least several weeks before any decisions are made on the permits and that a public hearing will also be scheduled. Scarlett’s attorney told the outlet they are continuing to follow the law and would not be commenting further.

Four other redwoods were already taken down before the fifth tree was saved last week. Scarlett planned to remove the 350-year-old tree from his property because he believed it posed a hazard to his home. The property is located near the John B. DeWitt Redwoods State Natural Reserve, which falls under Humboldt County’s Qualified Combining Zone, known as the Q-Zone, and protects redwood tree removal, .

Fredric Evenson, an attorney at the Ecology Law Center, told the Times-Standard that the county had a “clear and mandatory duty” to enforce any tree removal from the Q-Zone. He added that there are documented risks of removing redwood trees in the restricted area that include root system disruption to adjacent trees and damage to neighboring properties.