California's famous 'drive-thru' sequoia toppled by storms - News - MailTribune.com - Medford, OR

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California's famous 'drive-thru' sequoia toppled by storms At Calaveras Big Trees State Park, this walk-through tree, carved through by unknown pioneers, is shown Aug. 19, 1969. The park reported the tree was toppled by a severe storm Sunday. AP Photo/Ernest K. Bennett Monday Jan 9, 2017 at 11:33 AM Jan 9, 2017 at 11:33 AM The Associated Press Storms walloping California have toppled a giant sequoia famous for a "drive-thru" hole carved into its trunk by pioneers. Calaveras Big Trees State Park volunteer Jim Allday told the San Francisco Chronicle (http://bit.ly/2i6Rotl) the tree popular with generations of tourists went down Sunday afternoon and shattered on impact. He said it looked like the tree was lying "in a pond or lake with a river running through it." Photos taken by Allday show chunks of the fallen icon strewn around a tourist information board. The Chronicle reports a tunnel was carved into the tree's trunk in the 1880s to let tourists to pass through. It had allowed cars, but more recently was only crossed by hikers.