Wind

Thursday I left Fiona and Sophie home alone. I was on my way to Calgary with Erin and Noah, it was a nice day, Chuck was supposed to be home any time, and I had a ferry to catch. So I left, which I've done for short stints before, reminding them of various safety issues, of people to call if they needed help. Within the hour a freak windstorm blew up, the power went out, and trees began crashing down around the property. They were "a little bit scared." I'll say. Our house is surrounded by 50-100 ft. trees. We have an arborist friend who had looked them all over last year, felled the older ones that were most at risk of falling on the house. But still. Debris was falling like rain. At least two trees fell within view of the house.

Chuck had managed to phone them (the phone service later went out) and had told him he was on his way home.But the road was closed due to a tree with live wires in it down on the road. He parked, bushwhacked around the tree and hiked home. He got the girls packed up and evacuated them to a friends' place, retracing the bushwhacking with them and their overnight backpacks.

In town the situation was if anything worse, but they were safely with friends now. They quite enjoyed the adventure. They stayed 24 hours with their friends, returning home after the road was cleared and power restored.

The storm brought down dozens of trees around town as well, including many giant cottonwoods and cedars along the lakefront.

Several fell on trailers, sheds, campers and atop or near houses but no one was injured. Beneath this one is the remains of a park bench:


Fiona took me around town today to survey the damage. She was quite excited to show me all the mayhem I had missed.