WASHINGTON, D.C.—What do you do with a with a giant sequoia after it dies? Give it a second life as a desk for the Chief of the Forest Service, of course. The tree in question, a giant sequoia, was located on Stanislaus National Forest. The table project came to be after creation of a planned memorial for a staff member who died during the pandemic.

Back in 2020, Kurt Edwards, assistant center manager for the Stanislaus, along with members of his engine module, wanted to do something special to celebrate the memory of a deputy fire management officer who had passed away due to CIVDI-19 complications. It soon became evident to Edwards that the best thing to do was harvest the dead sequoia tree, which sat right outside the window of the deputy fire management officer and use that lumber in the construction of the memorial.  

After securing approval to cut down the tree, they next figured out how to mill the fallen giant into usable lumber. Doing this proved to be no easy task. After a lot of planning and even more measuring, the group was able to mill down the entire tree using an Alaskan mill.  

After all was said and done, the team had all the lumber they needed for the planned memorial and, as was expected, a lot of additional planks of amazing sequoia wood to be used in future projects.  

Fast forward to the summer of 2023: The team at the Stanislaus was busy making a sign for their fire office using the same sequoia wood that had been sitting in their compound drying for the past couple of years. That’s when Jim Junette, district ranger for the Stanislaus, stopped by. Upon learning what they were working on, Junette mentioned to Edwards that he had recently promised the Chief a table and wondered if it could be made using the harvested sequoia wood. Edwards, at first thinking it was meant for the “Chief of the Stanislaus,” was surprised to find out that it was meant for the Chief of the Forest Service. He asked Junette to get him some measurements, and then he and his team got to work.

In between doing his work fighting fires, both locally and nationally, Edwards and team worked on the table for the Chief. Edward, who enjoys woodworking on his free time, even brought a lot of his personal tools to the shop to help with the construction. The process was a long and arduous one, but one which the whole team, especially Edwards, thoroughly enjoyed. They even managed to make it more functional and unique by adding power supplies embedded in the table.  

To complete the look, the table was given a clear finish normally used for cutting boards, which can be reapplied in the future, allowing the table to be protected even after heavy use. This finish made the color of the wood vibrant and added a nice sheen to the table, also making it food safe.  

At last, the table was finished. All they needed now was to deliver it to the Chief’s office in Washington, D.C. Edwards had the opportunity to deliver and install the table in the Chief’s office.

“Thank you for the opportunity to have something my module and I built in such an important building and office,” noted Edwards. “It didn’t really sink in until we had gotten to Washington and were bringing it up to the Chief’s office. It was great to see how anticipated this delivery was and how much it was appreciated and needed.”