The B & R Journal

EXTRA                                    Volume I, No.2, August 2005                                      EXTRA  

 
The Storm of the Century

We got clobbered by a big wind on August 11 and suffered some damage to the house.  A few thunderstorms went through the area earlier, but we got nothing.  About 5:30 pm we finally started getting a few raindrops, which was good news for us -- it's been very hot and

dry for weeks.  Within a few minutes it started pouring buckets, and the wind picked up.  It kept getting worse, until the winds were at 70 mph.  We were watching out the back door, our big tree was getting waved around like a little flower.  About six o'clock the main trunk snapped and a huge branch fell off.  It missed the house by a few inches, but landed partly on the garage roof.  It also pulled down a power line that went across the yard, and that snapped off the top of the utility pole.  Luckily we have buried our power lines, so we did not lose electricity.  We did lose phone and cable that were on the pole.  About one minute after our tree broke, the neighbor's big pine tree snapped off about 15 feet above the base.  It would have landed safely between the houses, but it hit a second pine tree on the way down,

11 Aug 2005  storm damage Pine tree laying on top of roof, eaves ripped off
bounced off that and landed on our roof.  The tree broke in half on the edge of the roof, with 20 feet landing on the ground and the top 25 feet right on top of the roof.  One 4-inch branch went through the roof and into our bedroom.  There are two other 6-inch holes in the roof.  The rain gutters were torn off, and all the facing on the eaves, so the top of the wall under the eaves is wide open.  The wind was still blowing the rain sideways right into the opening, so we had a bunch of water running into the house.  It came out on the floor along that wall in our bedroom, and in the family room below it.  Luckily we still haven't put in the finished flooring or that would have been ruined. 

The storm quit right after that -- the whole thing

lasted maybe half an hour.  We were able to get hold of the insurance office and our builders, but nothing could be done that night.  We were not very comfortable sleeping with a tree trunk over our heads, but it stayed where it was.

The power company came out about midnight to look at the downed line, but since it was still

Tree and power line on garage Top of utility pole snapped off
connected at both ends they said it could wait till the next day.  I took off work Friday morning to get hold of people and to be there when all the workers showed up to do all the work.  But nobody could do anything until the power lines were removed.  The power company finally came back about 4:30.  They cut down all the bushes in back and ripped out our fence to get their truck through the back yard.  They put the electrical lines back up on what was left of the utility pole -- about ten feet was snapped off.  They said the pole is cracked at the bottom, so they will be back in a week or three to replace it.  Which means our fence has to be left mostly open in back, just tied up with a few wires for several weeks.

They finished about 7 pm, too late for anyone else to do anything.  The next thing was to get the tree off our house, but we could not get anyone to do it until Sunday.  I started cutting the stuff on ground Saturday.  Cleared a path

out of the back door, then got everything off the garage roof (two small holes there too).  Some friends came by after supper and we got all the branches cut off and stacked up. 

Sunday morning the first bunch of tree people came.  They got our half-trunk cut off the tree, chopped up the pine trunk on the ground (32 years old), got the tree off the roof, and shredded the big piles of branches.  Meanwhile the second bunch of tree people

Water leaking into walls A 4-inch diameter branch came in through bedroom ceiling
came to look at our tree.  We thought we could maybe save it with some drastic trimming, but they said it won't survive.  So they will be out within the next week to cut down our last shade tree. 

Saturday afternoon the cable guy came out to put his lines back up.  But he found out the electric company had put the power lines

beneath his connections, so he couldn't get to them.  Also did not want to go up the pole since it is cracked at the bottom.  So we will be without cable and phone until the utility pole is replaced -- maybe a couple of weeks.  And now that I think about it, that means you won't be able to see any of this until it is all fixed.  Not very timely news. At this time, Sunday evening, we are still waiting to hear from the roofing guy.  Looks like we will be without a tarp, and it looks like it may rain some more tonight.

 

 

 

 

View from top of roof Bill and Gary on cleanup
20 Aug UPDATE.

It has been a week since the storm hit, and we are mostly back to normal, although nothing is fixed yet.  Monday morning (Aug 15) the roofer came early and put temporary patches on the holes in the roof.  Luckily it did not rain on Sunday night, but it did start Monday

morning, so we got patched just in time. 

The builders came to make an estimate on Wednesday -- we don't know yet what it will be.  The roofer was guessing roughly $800 for his part.  And that's about all that has happened so far.  They have not replaced the utility pole, so we still have no phone, no

cable, no internet.  It's actually kind of nice with no phone calls coming in, but the other stuff we miss.  We do get a couple local channels without the cable, but we have been watching a lot of DVDs.  Rita is trying to get people lined up to record her favorite shows.

 

27 Aug UPDATE

All the cleanup has been done, and we are somewhat back to normal here.  We threw out six big trash bags of pine cones, needles and twigs, and spent three nights burning branches (well, some of it was old trash, not all from the storm).

The tree people came out Tuesday morning and cut down our big old tree.  That is our last big tree, so now there is no shade in the yard.  But, the yard does look twice as big now, and we can play badminton.

The electric company came out the same day and put in a new utility pole.  They just moved the electric lines, we still need to get the cable

company out here for the rest.  The cable guy did show up on Wednesday, but...   I told the dispatcher exactly what needed to be done, but of course they know everything, we know nothing, and of course they sent out some guy to hook up our TV in the house.  He couldn't do anything, so will be another week.

Friday the roofing people showed up and did our roof.  Still working on the garage.

 

 

1 Sep FINAL UPDATE

The roofing guy returned on Monday and did the final work on the garage -- just in time, Tuesday we had pouring rain all day and night from the hurricane.  After many phone calls, and hours spent on hold, we finally got someone from Time-Warner to come out and reconnect our cable.  We got our phone, TV and internet working again about 5:00 last night, after being without anything for three weeks.  We had been living just like the sturdy pioneers of old, with their 5-inch black and white TV's, and only one channel that came in clear.  But all back to normal once again.

Alan and I cut out the bad sections of fence where the pine tree had fallen -- lots of fun trying to cut through mangled chain link.  We'll finish repairing that tonite.  Then we still have to replace the two big sections in back where the power company came through -- those pieces just fell apart after several removals.

The neighbors had someone come to take down their pine tree -- but all they did was remove the one that had snapped off, which can't cause any more damage.  They left the dangerous one, which is now leaning over after being hit by the first, and is missing half its branches.  They figure, in the cheapness of their utterly evil souls, why should they spend a thousand now -- let the tree fall on something, and insurance will cover it.  Luckily, the way it is leaning, it will almost certainly fall on their own house....