Pacific Grove's controversial elm tree is no more.

All that's left of a 100-year–old American elm tree in Pacific Grove's Jewell Park is a pile of mulch.

The tree met its fate Friday morning, Dec. 17, less than one day after a Monterey County Superior Court judge declined to issue an order to stop its destruction. Residents had been fighting the city since July to keep the tree, despite a city arborist's declaration that the tree was a high risk due to rot and other issues. Arborists hired by the residents said the tree was not high risk and could be helped to remain many more years.

The P.G. City Council voted 4-3 on Nov. 17 to remove the tree on the basis that it was considered a danger to public safety.

Several hours after the tree was cut down the city issued a press release stating that as the tree was removed the crew found "advanced decay with an extensive cavity" in the trunk and supporting roots. 

The city will now replace the tree with five trees inside Jewell Park, following council direction at the November meeting. The Public Works Department will also complete a stretch of sidewalk that started the whole quest to remove the tree, because its roots were in the way.

The press release ends with one of the reasons the city was so anxious to remove the tree: "In 2004, a falling tree in the Pacific Grove Monarch Sanctuary killed an 85-year-old woman who was strolling with her son and two grandchildren the day after Thanksgiving. The city had previously identified the tree as dangerous prior to the incident, and paid $1 million to settle the family's lawsuit."