Seminole Co. could spend $60K on Senator tree security

A mysterious fire destroyed The Senator, believed to be one of the oldest trees in the world, and now Seminole County is trying to protect what's left.

But WFTV's Tim Barber asked why officials are now considering installing tens of thousands of dollars in security equipment for a burned-out stump.

Dead flowers at the site are a somber reminder that The Senator, which stood for 3,500 years, is gone.

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Slideshow: Senator tree catches fire, collapses

Slideshow: The Senator" two weeks before it burned

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Skywitness 9 HD flew over the 118-foot tall cypress when it burned down last month. But now the county is brain-storming a bigger and better reminder.

Officials want to protect what's left. They're proposing possibilities of a fence around the tree, another one around the park, and up to three security cameras to look down on the site that everyone used to look up to.

If the county gets all three, it could cost more than $60,000. Miranda knows the tree is a part of history, but she says that would be a waste.

"There are other areas that we need to spend our money a little more wisely on," Seminole County resident Karina Miranda said.

There are also a couple options to memorialize the tall tree: Nurture the seedlings, which might be its offspring, or replace it with a clone.

Fifteen years ago, officials planted some of The Senators' branches in north Florida. Some of them have grown to 45 feet tall.

As for the remains, the county wants to either preserve the big pieces or cut them down, possibly for artists to make something out of them.

But for Miranda, nothing would replace the magic of The Senator.

"It's sad you know how long it's been there and you know how old it was and how big it was," she said.

Officials have still not determined whether an arsonist or a lightning strike was to blame for the fire.