Hurricane Katrina: Before the Storm. The tropical depression that became Hurricane Katrina formed over the Bahamas on August 23, 2005, and meteorologists were soon able to warn people in the Gulf Coast states that a major storm was on its way. By August 28, evacuations were underway across the region.
True firs are defined as all species of the genus Abies. About 50 true fir (Abies) species are scattered around the globe. Six are native to the Pacific Northwest, and three (noble, grand, and Shasta red) comprise the bulk of the commercial true fir Christmas tree harvest in the region. True firs comprise just over 35% of the Christmas tree
Not all natural Christmas trees harvested are grown on plantations. In British Columbia, Canada, for example, most of the 900,000 trees harvested for use as Christmas trees came from native pine and fir stands.