TREE STRIKE!!!

First Report: A tree fell and hit the house around 4:04 am this morning. Deb and I are fine and the damage seems to be minor as best I can tell in the dark. I will post a full report with photos as soon as possible.

Update @ 7:49 am: Sun is coming up and soon I will be able to get some good video and photos. Here is the story so far. Deb gets up at 4:00 am to use the bathroom and as I wake up we both start hearing debris hitting the roof and deck. We look out onto the deck to see a very strong wind squall going on! The trees and really whipping around and small limbs and pine cones are peppering the house. I rush downstairs and check to see if there is a weather alert and to check the wind speed and direction. The wind is gusting to 37 mph and coming at the house from the Southwest. This is strange because the wind usually comes in strong from the east.

I head back up stairs and Deb lays in bed while I stand at the sliding glass door in the bedroom and look out at the wild panoramic of swaying trees! The whole time I am watching the entire house is echoing sounds of debris landing on it with a background of loud wind!

CRASH! One second the deck is clear, the next I am staring at the gnarled end of a 20 foot long section of tree only an inch off of the glass protecting me from the outside! I jump back! It is raining branches and the sound is amazing! The deck furniture is gone, a pile of twisted metal and glass pieces. The sliding glass door screen is torn by the broken end of the fallen tree, only an inch from the glass. Branches and bark and debris are everywhere! And that quickly it is over.

"HOLY SHIT!"

Update @ 8:34 am: Some first photos.

View from the bedroom

View from the Family Room

View from the dining Room Window. Note: The top right of the photo shows the break off point. Also for size reference the actual piece of timber resting on the deck is about 18 feet long.

Ground Zero!

Update @ 10:46 am: Headed out to the deck with a ladder to inspect the roof. There is quite a dent in the gutter, but nothing I can't bend out. I pulled all of the limbs off of the roof, and there is indeed some pretty ugly damage to the shingles and plywood underneath in a section about the size of a pizza pan. Of course it is raining, and of course it is Christmas Day, so there is no way I'll be able to get anyone out today.

I also looked at the deck rail that took the brunt of the force. The railing will have to be replaced as it is badly cracked as well as the ballasters that have all pulled out under the impact point.

I think we are now at the point where the insurance company is due for a call. Out for now.

Update @ 12:58 pm: Headed up to the attic to see if the damage had indeed penetrated the roof. Yup, I peer over into the dark corner of the attic and I see daylight. I carefully headed into the corner with a large plastic bin to catch any water that might make it in before tomorrow when I will have a roofer fix it.

Up in the attic a 'just in case' bin. Let's try not to add water damage to the event!

A close up of the breech!