Beloved community Christmas tree at Calafia State Beach destroyed in fire
Debbie Sheldrake, right, gets a hug from Jennifer Tracy as they stand next to Sheldrakek’s burned Christmas Tree along the trail at Calafia Beach in San Clemente, CA, on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. The tree, which Debbie Sheldrake has erected for 16 years, was burned overnight.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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.
Ornaments from a burned Christmas Tree along the trail at Calafia Beach in San Clemente, CA, on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. The tree, which Debbie Sheldrake has erected for 16 years, was burned overnight.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Debbie Sheldrake removes ornaments from a Christmas Tree along the trail at Calafia Beach in San Clemente, CA, on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. The tree, which Debbie Sheldrake has erected for 16 years, was burnt overnight.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Debbie Sheldrake puts a star atop one of two small trees from Jennifer Tracy that replaced Sheldrakek’s burned Christmas Tree along the trail at Calafia Beach in San Clemente, CA, on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. The tree, which Debbie Sheldrake has erected for 16 years, was burned overnight.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Debbie Sheldrake, left, puts a star atop one of two small trees from Jennifer Tracy, right, that replaced Sheldrakek’s burned Christmas Tree along the trail at Calafia Beach in San Clemente, CA, on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. The tree, which Debbie Sheldrake has erected for 16 years, was burned overnight.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Janie Vaught holds on to an ornament with a picture of her dog, Piper, she recovered from the burned Christmas Tree along the trail at Calafia Beach in San Clemente, CA, on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. The tree, which Debbie Sheldrake has erected for 16 years, was burned overnight.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Debbie Sheldrake puts a star atop one of two small trees from Jennifer Tracy that replaced Sheldrakek’s burned Christmas Tree along the trail at Calafia Beach in San Clemente, CA, on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. The tree, which Debbie Sheldrake has erected for 16 years, was burned overnight.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Debbie Sheldrake removes ornaments from a Christmas Tree along the trail at Calafia Beach in San Clemente, CA, on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. The tree, which Debbie Sheldrake has erected for 16 years, was burnt overnight.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Janie Vaught’s melted ornament with a picture of her dog, Piper, sits on the remains of the burned Christmas Tree along the trail at Calafia Beach in San Clemente, CA, on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. The tree, which Debbie Sheldrake has erected for 16 years, was burned overnight.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Debbie Sheldrake, right, gets a hug from Jennifer Tracy as they stand next to Sheldrakek’s burned Christmas Tree along the trail at Calafia Beach in San Clemente, CA, on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. The tree, which Debbie Sheldrake has erected for 16 years, was burned overnight.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Ornaments hang on Debbie Sheldrake’s burned Christmas Tree along the trail at Calafia Beach in San Clemente, CA, on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. The tree, which Debbie Sheldrake has erected for 16 years, was burned overnight.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Debbie Sheldrake examines her burned Christmas Tree along the trail at Calafia Beach in San Clemente, CA, on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. The tree, which Debbie Sheldrake has erected for 16 years, was burned overnight.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Debbie Sheldrake shows off an angel ornament she found on her burned Christmas Tree along the trail at Calafia Beach in San Clemente, CA, on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. The tree, which Debbie Sheldrake has erected for 16 years, was burned overnight.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Debbie Sheldrake removes ornaments from a Christmas Tree along the trail at Calafia Beach in San Clemente, CA, on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. The tree, which Debbie Sheldrake has erected for 16 years, was burnt overnight.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Debbie Sheldrake holds on to a monkey ornament that was hanging from her burned Christmas Tree along the trail at Calafia Beach in San Clemente, CA, on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. The tree, which Debbie Sheldrake has erected for 16 years, was burned overnight.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Ornaments hang on Debbie Sheldrake’s burned Christmas Tree along the trail at Calafia Beach in San Clemente, CA, on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. The tree, which Debbie Sheldrake has erected for 16 years, was burned overnight.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Ornaments from a burned Christmas Tree along the trail at Calafia Beach in San Clemente, CA, on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. The tree, which Debbie Sheldrake has erected for 16 years, was burned overnight.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Debbie Sheldrake holds on to an angel ornament she found on her burned Christmas Tree along the trail at Calafia Beach in San Clemente, CA, on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. The tree, which Debbie Sheldrake has erected for 16 years, was burned overnight.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Debbie Sheldrake, right, is comforted by Jennifer Tracy as they stand next to Sheldrakek’s burned Christmas Tree along the trail at Calafia Beach in San Clemente, CA, on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. The tree, which Debbie Sheldrake has erected for 16 years, was burned overnight.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Debbie Sheldrake, right, gets a hug from Jennifer Tracy as they stand next to Sheldrakek’s burned Christmas Tree along the trail at Calafia Beach in San Clemente, CA, on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. The tree, which Debbie Sheldrake has erected for 16 years, was burned overnight.
(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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 put up on 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 beloved school teacher who died three years ago.
One couple brought photos every year of their children, starting with a newborn photo of their first. This year’s ornament showed the now 17-year-old and his younger two siblings. Another ornament was of a baby’s ultrasound image, placed in a plastic bulb.
“I remember them all,” Sheldrake said of the destroyed mementos.
One of the first decorations this year was a small surfboard that leaned against the tree, placed by a mother who lost her elementary-age son recently. It survived the fire, someone placing the surfboard back upright against a rock near the scorched tree.
Another decoration mostly unscathed, except for the melted plastic that housed the ornament, is an “Endless Summer”-themed photo with “Save Trestles,” an ode to the town’s fight years ago against a toll road near the popular spot.
The past few years, it has been displayed at the entrance of the beach trail, with the ocean and a blue lifeguard tower serving as a backdrop. Blake’s Christmas Trees in Dana Point has donated the tree in recent years to ensure the tradition lives on.
San Clemente resident Don Baumea had just seen the tree for the first time a few weeks ago, taking photos of all the decorations adorning the evergreen.
When he arrived Wednesday morning, some people passing by uttered “oh, that’s horrible,” he said. Others stopped and started picking up what was left of the decorations and placing them on the few branch stubs still sticking out from the burned trunk.
“I think that’s the important thing,” he said, pointing out one of the decorations, wooden angel wings, that survived. “This tree is burned and really the only important story is not that bad things happen, but it’s how we respond to it.”
The Calafia State Beach holiday tree, put up each year by Deborah Sheldrake, was set ablaze. Most of the ornaments put on the tree by the community were destroyed. Admirer Don Baumea took these photos of the tree before it burned.
(Photo courtesy of Baumea)
The Calafia State Beach holiday tree, put up each year by Deborah Sheldrake, was set ablaze. Most of the ornaments put on the tree by the community were destroyed. Admirer Don Baumea took these photos of the tree before it burned.
(Photo courtesy of Baumea)
The Calafia State Beach holiday tree, put up each year by Deborah Sheldrake, was set ablaze. Most of the ornaments put on the tree by the community were destroyed. Admirer Don Baumea took these photos of the tree before it burned.
(Photo courtesy of Baumea)
Chris and Dana Toft, of San Clemente, let their 19-month-old daughter Sage explore the Christmas tree located near the trail at Calafia Beach in San Clemente on Wednesday, December 8, 2021. The Tofts were at the beach to take their holiday card photo. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Chris and Dana Toft, of San Clemente, pose for a photo with their 19-month-old daughter Sage next to the Christmas tree located just off the trail at Calafia Beach in San Clemente on Wednesday, December 8, 2021. The Tofts were taking a family photo for their holiday card. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Chris Toft attempts to get the self-timer on his camera to work for a photo with his wife and daughter next to the Christmas tree at Calafia Beach in San Clemente on Wednesday, December 8, 2021. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Visitors placed ornaments on a holiday tree at Calafia Beach in San Clemente, CA on Tuesday, December 3, 2019. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Visitors placed ornaments on a holiday tree at Calafia Beach in San Clemente, CA on Tuesday, December 3, 2019. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Visitors placed ornaments on a holiday tree at Calafia Beach in San Clemente, CA on Tuesday, December 3, 2019. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Debbie Sheldrake-Stetson has put a holiday tree at the beach in San Clemente, CA for 11 years. She was out at the tree at Calafia Beach on Tuesday, December 3, 2019. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Debbie Sheldrake-Stetson shows an ornament that was left on a holiday tree at Calafia Beach in San Clemente, CA on Tuesday, December 3, 2019. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Debbie Sheldrake stands next to the tree she’s brought down to Calafia State Beach for the public to decorate in San Clemente on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017. This year marks 10 years. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)
An Amtrak train passes by the Christmas tree at Calafia State Beach in San Clemente on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A memorial ornament adorns the Christmas tree at Calafia State Beach in San Clemente on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017. This year marks 10 years that Debbie Sheldrake has brought a tree down to the beach for the public to decorate. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Debbie Sheldrake looks at the tree she’s brought down to Calafia State Beach for the public to decorate in San Clemente on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017. This year marks 10 years. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A beach-goer checks out the Christmas tree at Calafia State Beach in San Clemente on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017. This year marks 10 years that Debbie Sheldrake has brought a tree down to the beach for the public to decorate. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Ornaments adorn the Christmas tree at Calafia State Beach in San Clemente on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017. This year marks 10 years that Debbie Sheldrake has brought a tree down to the beach for the public to decorate. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Debbie Sheldrake looks up at the tree she’s brought down to Calafia State Beach for the public to decorate in San Clemente on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017. This year marks 10 years. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)
evin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG
Ornaments adorn the Christmas tree at Calafia State Beach in San Clemente on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017. This year marks 10 years that Debbie Sheldrake has brought a tree down to the beach for the public to decorate. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Sheldrake said she stopped by Tuesday evening to water the tree and stayed through sunset watching people enjoy it as they passed by.
When she arrived the next morning, there was just one ornament on the tree – a white angel, hanging alone. She suspects someone put it up in the early-morning hours.
Strollers out enjoying the morning stopped in disbelief, wondering, “Who would do something like this?”
“I’ll tell you what, it’s still beautiful,” said passerby Brent Reid.
Janie Vaught stopped to pull off a red frame that had a melted with a now unrecognizable photo of her golden retriever, the words “1st Christmas, Piper” still on the back.
“We’ve always brought our dog’s pictures to the tree, maybe 10 years we’ve been bringing them down,” she said. “It’s part of the community, it’s the tradition.”
She planned on putting a new photo in the frame and bringing it back, she said. But gone are the old ornaments she added from when she was a kid, gifts from her mother.
“It’s so sad,” she said. “It’s terrible.”
Sheldrake’s longtime friend, Jennifer Tracy, who runs the nonprofit Surfers’ Healing that helps autistic children to surf, showed up after she saw a social media post about the fire.
She embraced Sheldrake, reassuring her that everything would be alright.
“Trees always grow back and so does the heart,” she said.
The duo discussed what to do – replace the tree or leave it as is.
“Do you want another tree?” Tracy asked.
Within two hours, she returned with not just one, but two trees. While they were much smaller in size, the replacements would do, for now.
Tracy’s friend, Juan Garcia, put the first decoration on: A wooden sign with a white ribbon that read “faith.”
Sheldrake tried to clean up the black sand around the new trees, her hands covered in dark soot. She held up a small figurine, an angel’s head, buried in the debris.
“There’s more good than there is evil,” she said, hanging the dozen or so ornaments that survived the blaze onto the new trees.
That’s about all that can be done for now, she said.
“I’ll just leave it to the community.”
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