An Eau Claire apartment’s Christmas tree went up in flames midmorning on Tuesday. The tree, shrouded in twinkling red and white lights, had a small pile of boxes wrapped in festive paper nestled beneath its branches. There was a brown couch to the tree’s left, a window to its right. The flames licked their way up the tree’s dry pine needles before engulfing the ceiling and the living room’s surrounding features in a thick, dark smoke.