One of the newly planted Toomer's Oaks caught fire at approximately midnight after Auburn's 18-13 win against LSU.
The suspect is in custody, according to a tweet from Athletics Director Jay Jacobs.
Auburn police have suspect in custody. pic.twitter.com/rFGoK5kvhu
— Jay Jacobs (@jayjacobsauad) September 25, 2016
The Auburn Plainsman has not received confirmation from the Auburn Police Division.
The extent of the damage is not yet known, said Director of University Communications Mike Clardy.
"[Horticulture professor] Gary Keever inspected the tree from the ground Sunday morning and did see some defoliation on one side," Clardy said. "We will get a lift up into the canopy as early as Monday to get a better look. We may not know for several weeks the extent of the damage, depending on how the tree responds."
Video footage from the City of Auburn's live web camera appears to show a man intentionally setting the fire.
At 0:19 in the video above, a man appears to light the toilet paper on fire and quickly walk away. Bystanders try to stop the fire, but they fail.
An unidentified person attempted to stop the man, but the video shows the suspect running away. Another unidentified person immediately tried to stop the fire before it engulfed the tree.
The Auburn Fire Division extinguished the flames after a few minutes.
The fire comes only weeks after the University announced fans could resume rolling the new trees — which were planted in February 2015 — for the first time this season. The original trees were poisoned by Harvey Updyke in 2011.
This is a developing story. Details to come.
Someone inadvertently set the one of the Toomer's Oaks on fire. It's out now, but all the toilet paper is burned off pic.twitter.com/0cSGRUBEFZ
— Sam Butler (@_sam_butler) September 25, 2016
Someone inadvertently set the one of the Toomer's Oaks on fire. It's out now, but all the toilet paper is burned off pic.twitter.com/0cSGRUBEFZ
— Sam Butler (@_sam_butler) September 25, 2016
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