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Fallen Pioneer Cabin Tree will provide life for park ecosystem

This weekend's storm toppled the iconic Pioneer Cabin tree at Calaveras Big Tree State Park.

This weekend’s storm toppled the iconic Pioneer Cabin tree at Calaveras Big Tree State Park.

The Sequoia tree was famous for the man-made tunnel carved through its trunk. It was carved out in the 1880s.

The 2,000-year-old tree brought in many tourists to the park but, to one local man, it was more than just an attraction.

“My dad took us there as kids and my wife and I were docents. We volunteered for many years at the park,” said Robert Porcella, a retired doctor and state park volunteer.

Calaveras Big Tree State Park is one of the earliest family trips that the 84-year-old can remember.

“The Tunnel Tree was one of the main features in the park,” Porcella said. “It’s like standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon being in the presence of something greater than you are.”

In the early 1900s tourists would drive cars through the tree trunk.

Porcella and his wife Yvonne spent the better part of their retirement volunteering at the state park. They enjoyed telling little known facts about the trees.

“The Yew tree is used in certain cancer drugs. My wife was treated with it,” Porcella said.

Porcella’s wife Yvonne fought ovarian cancer for 6 years. Before she passed, Porcella says she was treated with a cancer drug made from a Yew tree. A rare tree which can be found in Big Tree Park.

“When I pass it … yes, I get emotional that they discovered this particular drug,” Porcella said.

The giant sequoias may tower over the trails but when they fall, they decompose back into the earth. Their nutrients create life for others, Porcella said.

Rangers at Calaveras Big Tree State Park have no plans to remove the fallen tree. When flooding stops they plan to build a trail around the Sequoia.

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