Fir trade

Fire is one thing, but at least the South Coast Plaza Christmas tree will be strong enough to withstand any Santa Ana winds.

The tree, delivered Thursday, is the 96-foot incarnation of a 26-year tradition initiated by the Segerstrom family.

The 60-year-old white fir endured a two-day road trip from Mt. Shasta before being erected at Town Center Park.

The Segerstroms wanted the annual holiday tree to represent more than a beacon to shoppers; they wanted it to become a place for families, friends and the community to celebrate “a more tolerant, nice, neat time of year,” said Stan Taeger, director of office property management for South Coast Plaza, who has been part of the tradition from the beginning.

Lights are the tree’s only decorations — in keeping with the old-fashioned, simple concept the Segerstroms wanted, Taeger said.

The first South Coast Plaza Christmas tree was only 37 feet tall. But over the years it became difficult to see the tree, with the poplar forest growing around it.

Eventually, they started hauling down taller trees.

Getting them to Town Center is quite a chore. A crew first has to cut a path into the forest, then bring a crane and truck in so they can cut the tree down and get it loaded on a tractor trailer, Taeger said.

The bed can’t accommodate a tree larger than about 95 feet, and the lower branches are cut off so they aren’t damaged when the tree is transported.

Once it arrives, a crane hoists it into 6-foot hole in the ground, reinforced with wooden shims and stabilized with guide wire attached to the surrounding poplar trees.

The bottom is filled out by reattaching the branches.

Workers from Taeger’s office will stand on rooftops surrounding Town Center to oversee the tree’s installation. The set-up will take about a week.

The Christmas trees are so stable, Taeger said, they have withstood an earthquake and high-velocity Santa Ana winds over the years.

The Segerstrom family will attend the tree-lighting ceremony Nov. 26.

BY THE NUMBERS

• The tree is 96 feet tall. That’s about seven stories high.

• The tree will eventually be strung with 20,000 lights.

• The tallest white fir in California is 192 feet.

SUE THOENSEN may be reached at (714) 966-4627 or at sue.thoensen@latimes.com.