Rockin' Around McMinnville's Tree

McMinnville has arguably the tallest living lighted tree in the United States this holiday season, and I have the sore neck to prove it!
 
After craning my neck for several hours watching fearless climbers scramble up and down the trunk like squirrels, placing and repairing lights to make sure the tree lighting ceremony after the recent Santa Parade would go off without a hitch, I turned my attention (and my stiffening neck) to the lead arborist who I heard casually mention that ours might be the tallest lit tree in Oregon this year.  I couldn’t let a claim like that go uninvestigated!  A little research has led me to believe the claim that, indeed, McMinnville has arguably the tallest living lighted tree in the United States this year!
 
Our 106 year old Giant Sequoia tree at City Park that was lit at the end of the Santa Parade was measured at 162’ tall last year and has another full year of growth on top of that.  Other cities that staked a claim to the tallest lighted tree (in 2017) are:

• Ferndale, California – a  Sitka Spruce estimated between 152’ and 162’ tall
• Blue River, Oregon – a Douglas Fir estimated at 160’+

 
Giant Sequoias continue to grow at a healthy rate at this age and size, while spruce and fir are reaching maturity at those heights and their growth slows considerably.  It’s hardly verifiable, but I don’t feel like I’m going out on a limb (pun intended!) to say McMinnville has arguably the tallest living lighted tree in the nation this year, and I think that’s pretty cool!