Salem holds annual Christmas tree bonfire

SALEM, Mass. (WHDH) -- Sometimes the holidays leave you a little burnt out --and in Salem, that's exactly the idea.

A massive fire in the town Friday was made up entirely of Christmas trees. Cindy Nussle and her daughter make the drive from Swampscott every year.

“It’s just something really unusual. It’s our third year. It’s pretty to see the huge bonfire and sometimes different colors,” Nussle said.

Friday’s bonfire was the 10th annual tree burning in Salem. It's completely legal and heavily supervised.

“That’s what we're here for; keep it safe, keep it fun,” a firefighter said.

Organizers, though, say this year's haul may have been on a holiday diet; only about 550 trees were torched.

“That’s the smallest we’ve ever had. Normally we burn somewhere around 2,000 and 2,500,” said John Wright, Salem Parks and Recreation.

Nearly 2,000 people turned out to watch the trees burn.

“It’s like one big firework holiday show,” one woman said.

But the show quickly fizzles out, and John Wright’s the guy left to clean it all up.

“Monday morning I will have a dumpster and a backhoe here and I will load it all in to the dumpster,” Wright said.

This week was the final week of the season that tree burnings are allowed in Massachusetts.