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WESTON, Conn. – The sixth annual Christmas tree bonfire at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church raised more than $2,000 for the Weston Warm-Up Fund, which will help needy Weston families stay warm this winter.
A few hundred residents were extra warm Saturday night, as more than 60 trees were fed into a raging bonfire that was started by members of the Weston Volunteer Fire Department.
The firefighters moved most of the trees to the side before they started the fire, then fed them into the blaze once it was going.
"Sparks fly all over, so we need to keep it under control," said Fire Chief John Pokorny, who led a group of 15 firefighters at the event.
The Rev. Robert Ross, rector of Emmanuel Episcopal Church, said parishioners volunteered to pick up the trees, with residents donating $30 to the Warm-Up Fund for tree pickups.
Jackie Joffe, a parishioner, said she and her husband, Carter, landscape contractors, gathered 16 trees in their pickup truck. "We do it every year," she said.
Dawn Egan, chair of the Warm-Up Fund, said, "There are a lot of wealthy families in Weston, but there are less fortunate residents, too, and no one should be cold during the winter."
She thanked the volunteers for picking up the trees and the Fire Department for overseeing the bonfire.
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