WESTBROOK – A decorated Christmas tree, long a holiday tradition in Westbrook outside the Sappi Fine Paper mill, could be near the end of its life.

With its close proximity to electrical power lines, the spruce has become a safety concern, according to a Sappi spokeswoman.

The tree, which has been bedecked for years with holiday lights, stands tall near a rooftop Santa display at the Sappi mill. The aging tree, with little room left to spread out, is wedged between utility wires on Cumberland Street and a brick mill building.

“It’s somewhat of a safety concern,” Joanna Rieke of Sappi said Tuesday.

Rieke said that within the next year, the tree may have to be removed. Rieke said Central Maine Power last year had covered the power lines near the tree, but this year wasn’t able to do so.

But, she said, “right now it’s safe.”

The state has already stripped the street of a row of decades old deciduous trees to make way for construction of a new bridge being built on Cumberland Street over the Presumpscot River.

Terry McFarland, a longtime Sappi employee who has decorated the tree for the past 15 years, estimated the age of the spruce at between 60 and 70 years and its height in the 40-foot range.

This year, McFarland, an electrician, re-wired the tree with 17,000 lights. He and another worker spent about 20 hours decorating the tree with a new display of lights.

The tree was lighted at 5 p.m. on Dec. 7, later than the usual 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. The timing of the lighting this year caused some concern in the community about the tree’s future.

Its branches have spread outward toward Cumberland Street and limbs appear stretching precariously close to the utility wires.

Arty Ledoux, deputy director Westbrook Public Services, said at first glance of a Geographic Information System map, it appears the trunk of the tree is on Sappi property.

The health of the tree seems unknown.

“We have not evaluated that tree for condition,” Ledoux said Tuesday. “It’s beautiful,” he said of the evergreen.

The city arborist, Doug Eaton, was unavailable for comment this week.

If the tree is cut, it’s unclear whether it would be replaced with another tree. Sappi might also opt for another holiday display, said Reike.

Sappi now has several bushes illuminated with holiday lights near the big tree.

McFarland is not optimistic about the evergreen’s future.

“It’s in the last years of its life,” he said.

A tradition, the living Christmas tree at the Sappi mill in Westbrook, is pictured at twilight. The tree is growing close to utility wires and faces possible removal.