Christmas is over now it’s time to throw away the trees — or burn them?
Friday night was the 33rd annual Christmas Tree Burn in Solvang.
Hundreds of community members all threw their Christmas trees into a pile to be burned by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.
It’s one of the largest fire safety demonstrations along the Central Coast as hundreds looked on in a tradition that brings the holiday to a close.
“Like 15 seconds!” Henry Sweeney and Mason Elliott said in unison.
That’s how long they lasted up at the front of the crowd for the Christmas tree burning.
“It was sweating, super hot, and super fun,” said Sweeney.
They, along with hundreds of other locals and tourists, gathered around a large pile of Christmas trees, excited to see it go up in flames.
Many even contributing trees themselves.
“We live just down the street, and it was just a way to get rid of our tree and make it easy,” said Marco Gomez, a Santa Ynez resident. “As you can see we got a few accumulated already, and looking forward to the big burn.”