Tree Falls on Fence During Big Storm

Late in the evening of December 14th, 2006 a strong Pacific storm hit the coast of Washington State and blew in to the Puget Sound region.  Wind speeds at Seattle-Tacoma airport were recorded at 69 miles per hour.  Earlier in the evening, during rush hour, torrential rains flooded many homes and business -- even parts of Interstate 5 and highway 99 in downtown Seattle were flooded and impassable.  A woman drowned in the basement of her home in the Madison Park neighborhood.  Several people died of carbon monoxide poisoning while cooking over charcoal in their homes or running generators, as electrical service took over a week to fully restore.

At Gregg's mom's house, there was some minor flooding in the basement, no electricity for over a week and this Japanese willow tree was blown over and damaged the fence.  The tree was planted by Maura (Gregg's mom) in 1988 as a twig.

Click on any picture to get a full-sized version in a new window.   The tree fell to the north.  It was located at the southwest corner of the yard.

The roots uplifted the fence on the west side, and pulled down a section of the south fence.

The park bench and trellis were crushed.

Another section of the west fence was crushed.

No utility wires were involved with the tree.

Not storm damage, but an interesting growth pattern in the tree.

Looking to the south.

The gate on the west fence was not damaged.

The house is located in Houghton neighborhood of Kirkland, which is east of Seattle. Click here for a Google map.

This view is from the front street.

"Uprooted" now has a better meaning.

Gregg says the tree was about the same size as this twig when his mom planted it in 1988.

The house was not damaged by the tree.

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