In a crime befitting a grinch, the huge Christmas tree on the end of Crystal Pier was vandalized early Saturday morning Dec. 17.
The tree was tossed off the pier into the ocean, where it washed up on the beach a couple of days later near the Pacific Beach Lifeguard Station at 700 Ocean Blvd.
“Someone pulled down one side of the fence (that guarded the tree), undid the ties that hold the tree firmly in place, stomped on the packages that were out there, and tossed the tree over the railing,” said Meggan Buscho, manager of Crystal Pier Hotel and Cottages at 4500 Ocean Blvd. “The local community has been asking where the tree has gone. They were very upset. It’s affected a lot of people in the community. It’s unfortunate.”
On Nextdoor.com’s social networking site, Bill Bradshaw of Mission Beach, posted, “The tree ended up in the ocean, regardless of the cause, washed up on the beach and was somehow dragged up to the sea wall around Reed Street, a monumental feat because it was huge. And there it sat for at least four days, deteriorating in the sun, soaked with salt water, with the lights still on it.”
Bradshaw said no one asked the obvious question, “Can we save this thing and reinstall it on the pier? I believe all it would have taken was a thorough washing in fresh water and remounting it at the pier, but it just sat there.”
The 15- to 20-foot pine tree is donated to Pacific Beach for the community’s annual Christmas on the Pier celebration by Christmas Tree Country, a seasonal tree lot at 870 Garnet Ave.
Buscho said the tree, which is typically up on the pier from early December until after the first of the year, will not be replaced this year.
After the tree was discovered washed up on the beach, Buscho noted that “a good Samaritan did put it up on the beach,” for a time.
“It’s no small feat to get it (tree) all dialed in and safe for everybody to go there and walk around it,” said Buscho, who added a police report was filed on the theft.
“It’s an annual thing that people really look forward to, seeing it set up and the lights all lit up,” said Buscho. “It’s one of those good things that brings people together.”