SEASIDE, Ore. -- The world's tallest Sitka spruce near Seaside survived 700 years of storms and a threat from chain saws, but snapped in half during Sunday’s powerful winds.

Known as the Seaside Spruce or the Klootchy Creek Giant, the tree was 17 feet in diameter and 206 feet tall and the first tree to be designated as an Oregon Heritage Tree.

After the December 2006 storm, officials from Clatsop County, the Oregon Department of Forestry and the Oregon Heritage Tree Committee determined that the tree was too weakened by time and nature to save, but that public interest in the tree and its unique history merited a response of letting the tree stand and letting nature take its course.

This event had been expected since a December 2006 windstorm opened up an old lightning scar running from 40 to 80 feet above the ground. It was along this scar that the tree ultimately failed on Sunday.

"This tree was an Oregon icon," said Paul Ries, an urban forester with the Oregon Department of Forestry and a member of the Oregon Heritage Tree Committee. "The tree failed exactly as we expected it to, and while it represents the loss of a unique state landmark, it also represents an opportunity to see the life cycle of the forest in action."

Some visitors stopped by the tree on Sunday to take pieces of it as keepsakes.

The coast attraction drew about 100,000 visitors a year.