West Virginia University biologist W. H. Gillespie averred that the tree stood as "a memorial of the original virgin forest".

The West Virginia Division of Forestry performed a safety and risk assessment of the tree, and determined that structural mitigation was not feasible, and that the Webster Sycamore was to be "considered an extreme hazard".

In January 2008, a 17-year-old suspect from Bergoo was formally charged with a felony count of arson for setting fire to the tree.

[7][11][14] In 1955, an eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) measuring 5.5 feet (1.7 m) in height grew from a rotten knothole in the tree's main south fork.

[13] In describing the growth of the hemlock from an upper tree fork of the Webster Sycamore, writer William C. Blizzard referenced the idiom of Pelion piled upon Ossa.

[12] During the West Virginia Centennial "big-tree contest" of 1963, the honorific of the state's largest tree went to a white oak (Quercus alba) near Huttonsville in Randolph County, thus beating out the Webster Sycamore.

Senator Robert C. Byrd mentioned the Webster Sycamore while boasting of "the biggest and best of West Virginia".

[12] According to West Virginia University biologist W. H. Gillespie in Castanea, the tree stood as "a memorial of the original virgin forest".

[7][21] Initially following the fire, the tree's vicinity was closed for the investigation and for an assessment of the extent of damage and safety risk.

[22] They used various measurements developed by the International Society of Arboriculture and the United States Forest Service to formulate a tree risk assessment.

[10] At the time of their investigation, the tree's diameter at breast height was 8.42 feet (2.57 m), with 27% of the trunk consisting of open space.

[10] Hannah and Brashears also found that one-third of the lower trunk and root crown demonstrated callus formation and no new growth, but instead severe decay and peeling bark.

[10] Hannah and Brashears further determined that structural mitigation was not feasible, and that the Webster Sycamore was to be "considered an extreme hazard" and the public should be "excluded from its striking zone through fencing and signage".

[11] The investigation lasted four months, and once a suspect had been identified, the case was turned over to the Webster County prosecuting attorney's office.

[11] The suspect was also charged with misdemeanor counts of providing false information to conservation officers, possession of marijuana, and underage consumption of alcohol.

[14] In recognition of the tree, the Health Policy Division of the Office of the West Virginia Insurance Commissioner considered the name "Sycamore Healthcare Exchange" as one of the naming options for West Virginia's health insurance marketplace in 2011, following the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.