Giant sequoia move on schedule in Idaho, tree doing well

Workers build a burlap, plywood and steel-pipe structure to contain the rootball so they can move the roughly 100-foot sequoia tree in Boise, Idaho, Thursday, June 22, 2017. The sequoia tree sent more than a century ago by naturalist John Muir to Idaho and planted in a Boise medical doctor's yard has become an obstacle to progress. So the 98-foot (30-meter) sequoia planted in 1912 and that's in the way of a Boise hospital's expansion is being uprooted and moved about a block to city property this weekend.
Workers build a burlap, plywood and steel-pipe structure to contain the rootball so they can move the roughly 100-foot sequoia tree in Boise, Idaho, Thursday, June 22, 2017. The sequoia tree sent more than a century ago by naturalist John Muir to Idaho and planted in a Boise medical doctor's yard has become an obstacle to progress. So the 98-foot (30-meter) sequoia planted in 1912 and that's in the way of a Boise hospital's expansion is being uprooted and moved about a block to city property this weekend.

BOISE, Idaho — A massive Idaho tree that grew over more than a century from a seedling sent by a noted naturalist has been uprooted and is poised to travel about two blocks Sunday to a new location.

David Cox of tree-moving company Environmental Design said Saturday the 10-story sequoia is doing well, and everything is in place for the 800,000-pound (362,877-kilogram) landmark to start moving on inflatable rollers shortly after midnight.

Sequoias aren't native to Idaho, and the tree is believed to be the state's largest sequoia. St. Luke's Health System in Boise is paying $300,000 to move it to make room for an expansion.

Cox says if everything goes as planned, the sequoia will be at its new home on city property around noon Sunday.

The tree was sent to Boise as a seedling by naturalist John Muir, who played a key role in establishing California's Sequoia National Park.

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