Giant sequoia lit up for the holidays

Facilities workers worked earlier this week to trim the giant sequoia tree near Edens Hall with lights, an annual event at Western Washington University. The laborious process resulted in 14,000 LED lights along the tree, which is visible from downtown Bellingham.

Western has been lighting the tree since at least 1967. The tree's height was last estimated in 2009 at 131 feet.

Photos by Communications and Marketing interns Maddy Mixter and Sam Heim and Western Today editor Matthew Anderson.

Facilities workers trim the giant sequoia tree near Edens Hall with lights, an annual event at Western Washington University. The laborious process will result in 14,000 LED lights along the tree, which is visible from downtown Bellingham. Photo by Sam He
Facilities workers trim the giant sequoia tree near Edens Hall with lights, an annual event at Western Washington University. The laborious process will result in 14,000 LED lights along the tree, which is visible from downtown Bellingham. Photo by Maddy
Facilities workers trim the giant sequoia tree near Edens Hall with lights, an annual event at Western Washington University. The laborious process will result in 14,000 LED lights along the tree, which is visible from downtown Bellingham. Photo by Maddy
Facilities workers trim the giant sequoia tree near Edens Hall with lights, an annual event at Western Washington University. The laborious process will result in 14,000 LED lights along the tree, which is visible from downtown Bellingham. Photo by Maddy
Facilities workers trim the giant sequoia tree near Edens Hall with lights, an annual event at Western Washington University. The laborious process will result in 14,000 LED lights along the tree, which is visible from downtown Bellingham. Photo by Sam He
Facilities workers trim the giant sequoia tree near Edens Hall with lights, an annual event at Western Washington University. The laborious process will result in 14,000 LED lights along the tree, which is visible from downtown Bellingham. The view here i
Western's giant sequoia tree, planted on the WWU campus in 1941, stands near Edens Hall. The tree, decked in 14,000 LED lights, stood 120 feet tall at its last measuring a few years ago. Photo by Matthew Anderson | WWU Communications and Marketing
Western's giant sequoia tree, planted on the WWU campus in 1941, stands near Edens Hall. The tree, decked in 14,000 LED lights, stood 120 feet tall at its last measuring a few years ago. Photo by Matthew Anderson | WWU Communications and Marketing
Western's giant sequoia tree, planted on the WWU campus in 1941, stands near Edens Hall. The tree, decked in 14,000 LED lights, stood 120 feet tall at its last measuring a few years ago. Photo by Matthew Anderson | WWU Communications and Marketing