When drivers travel into Puyallup on state Route 512 this holiday season, they’re sure to witness a spectacle they’ve never seen before.

Standing at 185 feet high in the center of the Puyallup Fairgrounds is an engineered Christmas tree with white LEDs strung around the towering Extreme Scream carnival ride.

“It’s an icon in the valley,” said Kent Hojem, chief executive officer of the Puyallup Fair and Events Center. “When you come down 512, it’s centered right on the horizon as you look at the fairgrounds, and being 185 feet tall, it’s noticeable from all around.”

The fairgrounds have been decorated with traditional lights in the past, but spokeswoman Karen LaFlamme said the board of directors elected to take it a notch higher this season.

Literally.

The tree, which isn’t a tree in the traditional sense, makes the 19-foot balsam fir tree at the White House look tiny in comparison. It even overshadows the nation’s Christmas tree at New York City’s Rockefeller Center, a tree which can be no taller than 110 feet.

Fairgrounds staff  members say the tree’s only rival is the world’s largest artificial Christmas tree in Mexico City. According to the Guinness World Records, it stands at 362 feet.

While fairgrounds staff members can’t claim this tree to be the tallest in Washington State, they say it’s pretty safe to call it the tallest in Puyallup.

“I hope it’s one more reason to be proud to live in this area,” Hojem said. “It’s a good representation of the spirit of the holiday season.”

The process to put up the lights around the Extreme Scream was an engineering feat that fairgrounds staffers scratched their heads about.

Alan Baker, the fairgrounds facilities grounds manager, said it took about nine people and two full working days to erect the 2,400 feet of aircraft cable, strewn with 2,400 white LEDs around the Extreme Scream structure.

The lights were put up on the Monday after Thanksgiving. The spotlight that shines into the structure makes an almost halo-like glow around the tree.

“The darker it is, the better it looks,” Baker said.

The reaction from the public has been positive, Hojem said.

“We’ve received phone calls and emails,” he said. “People have walked in off the street to chat with us to say how cool it is and how great it looks. That has been very gratifying.”

Because the buzz has been so great, fairgrounds staff members already have begun to discuss how to improve the concept.

“We’re wondering if there is an opportunity for a community celebration around the tree,” Hojem said. “We’re asking ourselves how we can make it more attractive going forward.”

LaFlamme said the goal is to send a positive message to the community.

“It’s our way of acknowledging the community and thanking them,” she said.

It’s made many residents happy, including Denita Caudill.

She wrote to the fairgrounds: “My kitchen window looks off to the east, and I can see the tree in all its glory! Someone had a great idea, and I just wanted to let you all know what a fun one it was!”

Reach Puyallup reporter Andrew Fickes at 253-841-2481 Ext. 313 or email at andrew.fickes@puyallupherald.com.