A taste of winter: Citadel Christmas tree arrives from Mount Shasta

COMMERCE, Calif. - It may be fall, but Christmas is right around the corner. The tallest Christmas Tree in Los Angeles arrived at the Citadel Outlets on Friday.

The 65-year old white fir was cut from a private tree farm in Shasta-Trinity Forest and then hoisted by a crane onto a truck.

It’s a 650-mile journey to the mall, and the tree is so large, it had to be transported overnight so it didn’t jam freeway traffic.

Victor Serrao, President of Victor's Custom Christmas Trees says selecting the tree wasn’t easy. and that they wanted to make sure it fit perfectly in a huge space.

"It will be 100-foot tall, it’s got a nice color, the width at the bottom will probably be about 28 feet at the base, the trunk diameter is about 30 inches, and it will weigh about 15,000 pounds.  Decorated, it’s about 25,000 pounds," he said.

Serrano developed an eye, having worked alongside his father since he was 8-years old.  He’d like to pass down the long-time local family business to his children to keep their traditions alive.

RELATED: Citadel Outlets reopening its doors to shoppers

Serrao says their company has about 20 customers in the Southern California area and nearly every one of them has decided to order one of their massive trees to bring comfort and normalcy during this pandemic.

"You see the kids and families posing in front of it and discussing...'How did they get that in there? Did it come in multiple pieces?' It’s pretty cool!”

It will take another week before the tree is fully decorated.  

It will remain at the Citadel Outlets until the first week of January before it's turned to mulch.

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