During the process of removing 'Big Tom' to make room for his replacement, 'Big Tom' caught fire.

Burt Larson was inside the hollow statue with a cutting torch, working on dismanteling the turkey, when it caught fire.

"We were using a cutting torch," said Burt Larson, who was on the three man removal crew.  "We cut the front legs off and nothing happened.  We cut the wings, and as soon as the torch hit it, the whole thing went [up in fire].  It was hollow on the inside.  It acted like a chiminey."  Also on the removal crew were Kenny Fett and Ross Mickelson.

No major injuries were reported.