A 12-metre tall Cedar tree was damaged by a chainsaw-weilding vandal early Thursday morning.
The tree suffered severe cuts at the hands of a "late-night lumberjack" around 1 a.m., Victoria police Const. Mike Russell said.
A woman living in the vicinity of Lime Bay Park in Victoria West called police to say she had been woken by the sound of a chainsaw in the park. The suspect lumberjack escaped before patrol officers and a police canine team arrived.
The City of Victoria planned to bring in an arborist to assess the value of the tree, which "fell down on its own due to the damage," said city spokesperson Katie Josephson.
"When there is damage to public property the value is assessed," she said. "Should police be successful in determining who cut the tree down, the value will be needed.
emccracken@vicnews.com