SPOKANE -- The fight for a beloved honey locust tree, near a Chevron pipeline in North Spokane is over. The tree first made headlines this summer when homeowner Karen McAlpin vowed to keep the tree in her front yard despite threats from the gas company to cut it down.

McAlpin lost her fight on Saturday when Chevron said it had to go and cut the tree down. Their reason: tree was a few feet away from a underground pipeline and Chevron says the roots of the tree threatened to damage the line.

McAlpin and her daughter Heidi Jordan were devastated. The tree had stood in their front yard for more than 50 years.

"It doesn't look like the same house," said Jordan. "I'm just sad."

It took an hour for crews to cut down the half century old tree, a new patch of grass covered the spot where it used to stand. Young neighbors Makayla and her brother Justin held up a hand-written sign on notebook paper in silent protest while workers cut the tree down.

"It says 'Please save the tree', because we liked that tree really much," said 8-year-old Makayla.

Chevron told McAlpin this summer that her tree would need to come down as part of regular maintenance on a pipeline running in front of her home. The gas company said the tree falls into the pipeline's right of way.

McAlpin protested and even asked the Center for Justice to help her out, but she eventually ran out of options.

Chevron employees flew up from Salt Lake City and Houston to watch the tree come down.

"I wanted to be up here to offer my support," said Melissa Horiuchi with Chevron. "The most important thing for us here is to maintain the safety of the pipeline and the integrity of the pipeline."

Chevron says roots can wrap around a pipeline, eroding a protective coating. But Chevron's reasoning is a hard sell for Jordan.

"As a family we recognize that, but there wasn't any definitive scientific proof the tree posed any imminent or future danger to the pipeline," Jordan said.

Chevron says it's sympathetic for McAlpin and her family, but it couldn't take any chances.

"We understand it is an emotional issue, it's a sensitive issue, and we're sorry it had to come to this," said Horiuchi.

Some find it tough to imagine all this heartache over a tree, but Jordan says the tree was part of the family.

"It's like a member of the family has left," she said. "I know that maybe sounds a little overdramatic, but that's just how it feels."

Chevron has offered to buy the McAlpin's a new tree, but the family hasn't decided if they'll accept the offer.