Santa Fe area residents will be able to get a look at this year's Capitol Christmas tree when it makes a stop here on its journey from California to Washington, D.C.

The U.S. Forest Service plans to put the tree on view in a parking lot at the Santa Fe Place mall, 4250 Cerrillos Road, from 1 to 4 p.m. Nov. 17.

The 65-foot white fir tree was cut down and removed from a picturesque setting in the Sierra Nevada mountains on Saturday, then loaded on a truck for a 4,500-mile journey from Northern California to the nation's Capitol.

The Stanislaus National Forest tree was selected based on its shape, fullness and color, officials said.

Work crews boxed it up on Sunday, with a portion encased in Plexiglas so that people can view it during its upcoming nationwide tour. A bladder bag attached to its base will be filled with water on a daily basis to keep the tree fresh, said Jeff Crider, a spokesman for U.S Capitol Christmas Tree Tour, a nonprofit project overseen by the U.S. Forest Service.

The tree is scheduled to arrive in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 28, with a lighting ceremony at the front of the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 6.

It will be decorated by 5,000 ornaments handmade by California residents, and House Speaker John Boehner and a child from California will light it.

In Santa Fe, there will be a banner for visitors to sign, and Smokey Bear is scheduled to make a 2:30 p.m. appearance, an announcement said.

In 2005, an 80-foot Engelmann spruce harvested from the Santa Fe National Forest served as the Capitol holiday tree.

New Mexico first provided the Capitol tree in 1991. It was a blue spruce from the Carson National Forest. Since 1970, Congress has rotated through the states to bring Christmas trees to Washington.