An oak tree that is over 300 years old on the Olching golf course was probably destroyed by a campfire.
The tree may have been glowing from within for hours.
Martina Drechsler, president of the golf club and vice district administrator, is shocked.
She laments a serious increase in vandalism since the corona pandemic.
Olching
- Martina Drechsler usually exudes calm, but on Monday morning she was clearly stunned. “That is the absolute top summit,” she says. In the morning she learned that the more than 300-year-old oak on Grün 15 had been destroyed. A passer-by had alerted the fire brigade because the tree was glowing like lava from the inside, easy to see through a hole in the trunk. The president of the golf club, who is also the deputy district administrator, assumes that there has been an arson attack.
However, what exactly happened must now be clarified by the police.
Gerhard Rieger got a picture on site.
“You can't say whether that happened on purpose,” he reports when asked by the daily newspaper.
One can only speculate about the cause at the moment.
But the tree is hollow at the bottom.
In his opinion, there is a lot to suggest that someone lit a campfire here.
With grave consequences.
The golf club had filed a complaint against unknown persons.
+
The fire has eaten its way up.
© FFW Geiselbullach
Angelika Zettl, Vice-Commander of the Geiselbullach Fire Brigade, has a completely different suspicion.
“It is not unlikely that the tree has been glowing for many, many hours.” In other words: It doesn't necessarily have to have happened on Sunday evening, maybe someone made himself comfortable here with a campfire earlier.
"And since the tree is hollow on the inside, it had the same effect as a chimney."
Fire on the Olching golf course: the fire brigade could only walk to the source of the fire
The operation presented several difficulties.
On the one hand, the 15 rescuers could only get to the place in the Amperauen on foot and had to lug all their equipment there.
On the other hand, there was a risk that the oak tree, estimated to be 20 meters high, would topple over.
The firefighters had to keep a large safety distance and could only cool the heat down a little through holes in the tree.
In any case, the fate of the old oak was sealed: at some point the building yard cut down the tree.
“Then we were able to extinguish the embers properly,” explains the Vice-Commander.
The mission was over after two and a half hours.
For the president of the golf club, that is by no means the end of the matter.
She is now aggressively addressing the population because the cases of vandalism have become a serious problem since the pandemic.
Drechlser lists: Signs were smeared, a notice board and several markings were stolen, the expensive green that needed care was repeatedly destroyed.
"Shards on the lawn can also break our mowers." Drechsler even speaks of corona parties in lockdown times.
+
The fire brigade extinguishes the ancient tree on the Olching golf course.
© FFW Geiselbullach
In particular, the maintenance of the greens consumes a large part of the budget. "We are known nationwide for the top condition of the facility," says the golf club. However, it is precisely this part that is trampled on or stabbed with flags and sticks. The total damage amounts to a five-digit range, says Drechsler.
In the meantime, signs have been put up saying that you are not allowed to step on the lawn.
There would now be a complaint about this in the town hall, because citizens are used to crossing the golf course in several places.
The golf club is trying to find a solution.
It is said that you see yourself as part of the community, as an economic factor for the city.
That is why the turners' team asks for the necessary respect when handling the system.
And as far as vandalism is concerned: We are happy to receive relevant information about the perpetrators.
But that doesn't help the oak anymore.
You can read more news
from Olching with us.
