Sea Isle's Wind-Damaged Christmas Tree is Carted Away

By DONALD WITTKOWSKI Even the Grinch wouldn’t have taken any pleasure over this sad scene. Broken ornaments, twisted lights and a bent metal frame were pretty much all that was left of Sea Isle City’s 30-foot artificial Christmas tree before it was disassembled and carted away Tuesday. The tree toppled over in Excursion Park last Friday during the Christmas weekend storm that lashed the shore with fierce winds, drenching rain and bitterly cold temperatures plunging into the single digits overnight. It was anchored by four braided steel cables, but two of them snapped in the heavy winds to send the tree crashing to the ground. “I haven’t seen snapped cables before,” Jake Bjorbekk, installation manager for Rileighs Outdoor Decor, said in astonishment. Rileighs Outdoor Decor workers Koby Rollins, left, and Jake Bjorbekk inspect the tree's damaged metal frame. Rileighs Outdoor Decor serves as Sea Isle’s professional decorating contractor for the holiday season. Bjorbekk and fellow Rileighs employee Koby Rollins were busy Tuesday cleaning up the remnants of the Christmas tree. They planned to disassemble the towering metal frame, which struck the ground with such force that it was bent. Bjorbekk and Rollins said the frame and other parts of the tree would be trucked back to Rileighs’ company headquarters in Allentown, Pa., to see if anything could be saved. “We might have to get some replacement parts,” Rollins said. “A lot of the framework was damaged. Once we get it back to the shop, we’ll see what we can salvage.” Trimmed in white lights and topped by a twinkling star, the tree traditionally serves as a centerpiece for Sea Isle’s elaborate display of holiday decorations throughout town. Each year, the city caps off its Christmas parade by having Santa Claus flip a switch to light the tree. Sections of the tree's artificial branches and colorful ornaments are placed in piles to see if they can be salvaged. The tree also serves as a sparkling backdrop for the city’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display that lights up the sky above Excursion Park and the beach. Sea Isle officials initially had hoped that the tree could be repaired in time for the New Year’s Eve celebration. However, Bjorbekk stressed that the tree was too badly damaged. “It’s unfortunate. Too much of it is beat up,” he said. “I think I would be doing them a disservice to put it back up. I don’t think it would be fun. Safety-wise, it’s not something I would be comfortable with.” Sea Isle spokeswoman Katherine Custer said the city still anticipates having an enjoyable fireworks display, even without the tree serving as a focal point of the celebration. Despite the damage done to the tree, Custer emphasized that the spirit of Christmas continues to flourish in Sea Isle. “I don’t think it dampers anyone’s holiday spirit in Sea Isle City, because Christmas is a cherished time in our community. I’m confident that Christmas means more to the people of Sea Isle City than just decorations,” she said in an interview last week, right after the tree was blown over. Before it was blown over, the tree was a centerpiece of Christmas decorations in Excursion Park. A number of posts on the community Facebook forum SIC Chatter expressed sadness about the fallen tree, but others reflected the town’s strong Christmas cheer. “The town tree is down but Christmas is still in our hearts,” wrote one poster, Lisa Missigman Bianchini. Missigman Bianchini called on local residents to “flood” the SIC Chatter Facebook page with photos of their own holiday trees to show the community’s Christmas spirit. What followed were photo after photo of beautifully decorated Christmas trees from people’s homes. As a special tribute, one poster included a photo of the Christmas tree in Excursion Park in all of its glory, before it was toppled by the winds.