Located just yards from the Gulf of Mexico these two ancient oaks stood their ground during Hurricane Katrina.
The live oak in the foreground saved three people and a dog as they clung to its sheltering branches for four hours in 140 mph winds and water from a 30 foot tidal surge. They were in a two story historical house when the tidal wave came in, breaking the house apart and throwing the people in the water.
The very sad part of this story is that the tree saved the people but the tree died because of carelessness on the part of man. In the months following Katrina tons of sand were brought in and piled on top of the roots of the "saving oak". The sand smothered the roots. I do not think the tree will survive.
As chairman of the National Live Oak Society I grieve for this valiant tree. The two oaks are about 200 years old and survived the 1969 killer hurricane, Camille, and many others before that.