Port McNeill’s pride and joy — the world’s largest preserved tree burl — burned through the night, keeping firefighters on the scene until Thursday morning.
The Ronning Burl caught fire on the Port McNeill waterfront just after 11 p.m. Wednesday, and by Thursday morning, the community-built platform surrounding the burl had been destroyed.
The burl was still smouldering and firefighters were tackling hot spots and spraying water on it at 9 a.m. Thursday.
While it’s still early in the investigation, the fire appears to have been deliberately set to destroy the town’s prized point of interest, Sgt. Curtis Davis, detachment commander for Port McNeill RCMP, said in a statement.
Two people were seen on security video carrying what appeared to be a yellow jerry can near the burl.
Police released images of two suspects. Later Thursday, two people were identified and arrested. They were released pending a court date and approval of charges.
Employees of Western Forest Products were able to pull the burl out of the platform with logging equipment so firefighters could tackle the blaze within.
“Big kudos to our volunteer fire department. They were out there all night last night,” Port McNeill chief administrative officer Brenda Johnson said.
The damage to the burl, a major town attraction, was extensive, said police.
“People are really, really, disappointed,” said former Port McNeil mayor Gaby Wikstrom.
Discovered in 2005 by Western Forest Product loggers, the Ronning Burl was cut from a 525-year old Sitka spruce located near Holberg and relocated 70 kilometres away to the Port McNeill waterfront, according to Guinness World Records.
The burl is six metres in diameter and weighs an estimated 30 tonnes.
Wikstrom was the town’s Chamber of Commerce president at the time the burl was discovered and helped to organize the burl’s relocation to the Port McNeill waterfront.
At the time, residents weren’t happy with the chosen location, Wikstrom said. “But the reason it is where it is, is because we would have had to actually remove power lines if it was put in a more prominent position in town.”
The area is also home to another giant burl. The previous title-holder before the Ronning Burl, a 20-tonne burl discovered in 1976, is on display just a few minutes from Port McNeill at the intersection of 1921 SW Main Road and Highway 19.
mjlo@timescolonist
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