Meth user burns 5th oldest tree in the world
Four out of five dentists agree — smoking meth in a tree is as rough on the environment as it is on teeth.
Sarah Barnes, 26, is charged with burning tree, 3,500.
Need proof? Consider the sorrowful tale of 26-year-old Sarah Barnes, arrested Tuesday in Florida for burning down the fifth oldest tree in the world, reports WFTV in Orlando.
Barnes has admitted starting the fire and is charged with meth possession with intent to sell and arson.
Police say she and a friend clambered into a 118-foot-tall bald cypress Jan. 16 and allegedly smoked meth. Since it was dark, Barnes is alleged to have lit a fire so she could see.
Somehow, the calm, dextrous hands of a meth user led to a blaze that burned the 3,500-year-old plant “from the inside out.”
The night of the blaze, firefighters ran a mile of hose in a desperate attempt to save the tree, reports wesh.com.
“I can’t believe I burned down a tree older then Jesus,” Barnes is alleged to have said to friends while showing them pictures she took of the damage.
The ancient Taxodium distichum, dubbed “The Senator,” was located near Longwood, Fla., in Big Tree Park, which will need a new name.
- Read more about The Senator.
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70 comments Add your comment
Claudia
February 29th, 2012
3:37 pm
She looks older than the tree – plant her there.
kimmer
February 29th, 2012
3:52 pm
Well I guess this puts what ol’ harvey updike did to those young sprouts at auburn in perspective doesn’t it?
My question is how did she get inside the dang tree? I would’ve thought something that valuable one wouldn’t be able to actually crawl inside of it.
Gordon Bull
February 29th, 2012
3:55 pm
From her looks 26 going on 40, she has destroyed something more valuable than her own miserable life is worth, she should make herself a poster child of Meth and call in the media standing 118ft high in a building smoking her drug and hold a sign saying ” this is Meth” and then jump.
nomaj
February 29th, 2012
4:05 pm
Too bad her meth addled mind was racing, but not focused. Otherwise, she could have put the fire out immediately after it started with her Mountain Dew.
reality
February 29th, 2012
4:10 pm
George – first, if this is an “alleged” quote then it isn’t a quote. And second, the opening sentence about dentists makes no sense with respect to the story but certainly seems as if you are making light of the sorrowful story… and it isn’t funny anyway.
Charmander
February 29th, 2012
4:11 pm
George, even when quotes contain errors, you don’t have to print them “as is.” You can still use them and add a note to inform the reader that you’re aware of the mistake. The standard notation is to add “[sic]” after the erroneous word or sentence.
.
Otis
February 29th, 2012
4:36 pm
Hang her from the highest tree. Oh wait, she burned it down!!!!!
t-bone west
February 29th, 2012
4:55 pm
I do not understand why reporter George Mathis chose to make light of this story, to turn it into a joke. It is a tragic story. The headline should read: THE OLDEST F—ING TREE IN FLORIDA, THE FIFTH OLDEST IN THE F—ING WORLD IS BURNED DOWN BY A F—ING METH ADDICT!!! This tree, The Senator, was historic. It was 15 feet in diameter. That means if you drilled a hole through the tree the hole was 15 feet long. School children took field trips to the tree. Presidents visited the tree. It’s as if a meth addict somehow caused Niagra Falls to collapse into a jumble of low lying rubble, or if she somehow caused the Grand Canyon to fill in with sand. What are we to do? Write funny stories about it? Is that all we can do? OMG! Maybe Mitt can come up with an off message comment for us.
tree hugger
February 29th, 2012
5:57 pm
May you burn as well.
Pan
February 29th, 2012
6:51 pm
Whatever. Corporations do this every day.