City crews are working to remove an old poplar tree from Calgary’s Central Memorial Park Tuesday morning after it was set on fire.
Calgary Fire Department public information officer Carol Henke tells CityNews crews responded to reports of a tree fire around 4 a.m. at the 600 block of 11 Avenue SW, on the 12 Avenue side of the park.
The tree was next to a light pole.
An arborist from the city parks department also attended the scene to assess the tree.
A city spokesperson identified the tree as a large, old poplar tree that was scheduled for maintenance due to its heritage status, even though it was near the end of its life cycle.
A preliminary investigation indicates someone put paper in the base of the tree to start the fire.
Fire crews used water to flush the flames out, stayed on scene until 7 a.m. and secured the scene with tape and traffic barriers.
The city says the tree was killed and is now being removed for public safety.