Live Christmas tree should be tossed soon

Thousands of Iowans opened presents around live Christmas trees, and it will soon be time to tell the tree goodbye. Ankeny Fire Chief David Burns says it’s not good to leave that tree up for weeks after the presents are all gone. Burns says many of the trees purchased for Christmas were cut way back in November, and even with plenty of water, those treesare probably getting pretty dry. He says you should enjoy the tree for the holidays, but take it down afterwards as the tree dries out. Burns isn’t recommending you take the tree right out after opening your gifts, but he says be reasonable. He says a lot of people like to keep the tree up through the New Year’s holiday, but he likes to take his home tree down on New Year’s Day. Burns says a dry tree can go up in flames quickly and cause a lot of damage.