The beachside Christmas tree at Calafia State Beach is a gift for the community – a place for the last 16 years where passersby can stop and snap photos with the sun dipping into the ocean as a scenic backdrop, or simply soak in holiday cheer on their stroll along the popular coastal trail.
Through the years, people have added personal touches to the San Clemente tree. Some put decorations that are a nod to the seaside community – starfish and other beachy mementos. Others ornaments have been more intimate, photos or decorations dedicated to loved ones who died.
Sometime in the dark of night, the tree was set ablaze. Most of the ornaments – some dating back to the first years the tree was erected – disintegrated or were burned beyond recognition. A charred tree trunk is all that was left behind Wednesday morning with a few branch stubs sticking out.
Debbie Sheldrake arrived Wednesday morning to check on the tree she has brought to the beach and cared for with each passing year.
“I just started crying,” she said of the shock that awaited her, looking at what was left of the tree and the few ornaments that survived the blaze. “I’m just devastated for everyone’s ornaments. Some of those were irreplaceable.”
That first year Sheldrake put up the beach tree, she hung a few bulbs of her own, never imagining the cherished community staple it would become.
She posted on social media letting people know about the display and encouraged them to bring ornaments. Soon, other people’s decorations started popping up.
Sheldrake keeps many of the ornaments in storage, she said, pulling out the best ones each year as others bring more down to add to the collection.
Among the most cherished lost in the fire is a tribute to Saylor Voris, a San Clemente teen who died of cancer in 2015. Others added through the years paid tribute to lost relatives or friends, even pets who died. A woman from Dana Point had added a photo of her husband this year, a…
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