WARSAW: A suspected arson fire in southwestern Poland has damaged a 750-year-old oak tree believed to be the country’s oldest.

The deputy chief forest ranger in Szprotawa, Jerzy Wilanowski, said on Monday that firefighters battled the blaze for more than 30 hours last week using water and foam. He says authorities will know in May whether the tree survived if it grows new shoots.

Wilanowski says he knows of a case of an old oak tree surviving a fire. The tree is nicknamed ‘Chrobry’ after a medieval king, and its trunk circumference is more than 10 meters and height more than 28 meters. The oak is protected by law and an arsonist faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Published in Dawn, November 25th , 2014