Firefighters Extinguishing Fire: To Regain Vitality, the Old Tree Must Undergo a Painful Healing Process Like Guan Yu's Bone Scraping Therapy
"Ah, the tree is spontaneously combusting!" At around 1 PM yesterday afternoon, on the south side of the Huanhu Road near Shengxian Lake at Honghua Yan, the top of a century-old Huanggle tree suddenly emitted thick smoke, followed by visible flames. After the incident, it took the staff about half an hour to extinguish the open flames. How could a tree suddenly catch fire? Was it due to human sabotage? Or did it "spontaneously combust"?
Surprisingly! The Tree Emitting Smoke
At around 1 PM yesterday afternoon, on the south side of Shengxian Lake’s Huanhu Road, Mr. Wu Tian was leisurely sitting on a bench chatting with his neighbor. Suddenly, a burnt smell spread through the air. Initially, he thought that nearby residents were burning garbage. Later, the burnt smell grew stronger. When he turned around, he saw behind him in the greenbelt, a Huanggle tree about 8 meters tall and requiring four people to encircle its trunk, emitting thick smoke from its top, "just like a chimney!"
Besides the thick smoke from the top, other parts of the tree trunk also emitted wisps of light smoke, as if a heavy fog had descended. "Can trees emit smoke?" Mr. Wu Tian and other visitors to the lake were puzzled.
At this moment, another scene unfolded: flames suddenly shot out from the top of the tree, some branches caught fire, and sparks continuously fell.
Ah! It Really Did Spontaneously Combust!
"Did the tree spontaneously combust?" This sudden scene left Mr. Wu Tian and other citizens deeply perplexed.
As the fire grew larger, the citizens immediately called 119 and reported the situation to the Shengxian Lake management office staff.
Subsequently, the staff of the landscaping team rushed to the scene, using water pumps to draw water from the lake and directly spray it onto the "belly" of the old tree.
After about half an hour, the open flames were extinguished, but white smoke continued to seep out from the cracks.
Yesterday afternoon, reporters at the scene observed that the base of the Huanggle tree had been burned to the point of being unrecognizable, with various-sized holes appearing before their eyes, continuously emitting hot air and ash. Charcoal formed from the burning was scattered around the Huanggle tree.
Is It the Weather's Fault?
"This is a century-old tree!" Citizen Mr. Huang introduced, saying that the Huanggle tree that "emitted fire" required four people to encircle it, meaning it must be at least over a hundred years old.
According to Mr. Yang, a staff member of Dongsheng Lake, this Huanggle tree was transplanted here during the Sha River renovation in 2002.
At that time, the tree was dug up from a large mountain ravine, "costing more than 100,000 yuan."
Why did the old tree suddenly catch fire?
Some citizens questioned, "It might be because someone smoked and threw a cigarette butt into the tree!"
Others believed that it was likely due to the recent hot weather causing the tree to spontaneously combust.
Guan Yu’s Bone Scraping Therapy: The Old Tree Still Has Hope of Survival
Mr. Yang said that there are patrol personnel stationed 24 hours a day within the lake area, and no one was seen throwing cigarette butts or engaging in similar behavior during this period; thus, it was unlikely to be caused by human sabotage. "When the tree reaches a certain age and decays to a certain extent, heat is generated, which can lead to spontaneous combustion!"
Mr. Yang stated that due to the timely rescue efforts, the Huanggle tree still has a chance of survival. Currently, relevant personnel are maintaining the Huanggle tree, "it may be necessary to saw off the burned parts, which would help it recover quickly!"
Ms. Liu Xiaoli, an engineer from Chengdu's Early Warning and Control Center for Harmful Garden Pests, explained that the main reason for the tree's spontaneous combustion is that during the process of drying, rotting, and insect infestation, the tree becomes hollow. Since leaves and other items accumulate inside the tree cavity, as the decomposition time extends, fermentation produces methane gas. When both space and temperature reach certain conditions, the tree undergoes spontaneous combustion.
Ms. Liu Xiaoli said that cases of tree spontaneous combustion are not common, and it cannot be ruled out that it might have been caused by human sabotage.
Reported by Early Morning Post reporter An Liping
Intern Chen Xianghai, Photography by Liu Xiaoqing