Still have a live tree up? You might want to take it down very soon!

CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. - Anyone who still has a live Christmas tree on display in their homes, firefighters say it is time to take it down

Cherokee County Fire Lt. Michael Sims says the longer a tree is kept up, the more likely it is to dry out and ignite.

"The trees have been up for a long time, probably not getting as much water as they should be, and then in January, they're very dry," said Lt. Sims.

Cherokee County firefighters did a demonstration showing how an entire tree can go up in flames in about 60 seconds.

That demonstration was done in an empty, concrete room. Had it been in someone's living room, the flames could have quickly spread through the house.

"A smaller space with a lot of furniture and flammable material, that whole room quickly gets filled with black smoke and the entire room can flashover in fire very quickly," said Lt. Sims.

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Lt. Sims says about a third of house fires that involve Christmas trees happen in the month of January.

He adds, there's no better time to get that tree out of the house. Some businesses and nonprofits will take the tree.

Many communities are also offering drop-off locations for recycling. At Hobgood Park in Cherokee County, their Bring One For the Chipper event starts Saturday, January 6. The trees are turned into mulch and used at the dog park at Patriot's Park.

"Pretty easy to find in your community where you can donate these trees, but getting them out of the house as quickly as possible is what we recommend," said Lt. Sims.