Winds cut power, spread fires across D.C. area, topple National Christmas Tree -Washington, DC

Winds cut power, spread fires across D.C. area, topple National Christmas Tree

High winds also blew over the National Christmas Tree, the majestic Colorado blue spruce that stood near the White House on the Ellipse, according to Bill Line, a spokesman for the National Park Service.

"At about 10:55 a.m. - with sustained winds of 25 miles per hour and 50 miles per hour sustained gusts that were highly unusual for Washington, D.C. - the National Christmas Tree was toppled," Line reported. "No one was hurt."

Line said the tree was a Colorado blue spruce from York, Pa., that was planted on the Ellipse in 1978. It was 46 years old and almost 42 feet tall at the time it was felled. But there would be little time for mourning. The tree was scheduled to be mulched Saturday afternoon.