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Christmas Tree Bonfire Canceled By Construction, Drought

COLUMBUS, Miss. (AP) — Lowndes County residents won't be capping off the season with a Yuletide bonfire of Christmas trees.

That's because city officials have concluded there's no safe place to burn them because of construction.

The bonfire began in 2015 as a way to dispose of Christmas trees instead of burying them in a landfill. City spokesman Joe Dillon tells the Commercial Dispatch (http://bit.ly/2if7Re4 ) that the site of the previous bonfire is now where seats for an amphitheater are being built. He says the city had concerns about people in a construction zone, plus burning trees during a drought.

The Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau would serve hot chocolate while Columbus firefighters torched the dead evergreens. The bureau's director says she hopes the city can find a new location in 2018.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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