When a tree falls
Spruce lands on family home, with limb piercing into one of the rooms
An ordinary residential home on the west side of New Glasgow became the centre of a lot of attention over the last few days since a large tree in the yard toppled onto it.
Devon and Carly MacKay who live at the home with their two children say they often talked to each other about the large tree in
their front yard and questioned whether it was a hazard.
“I’ve always had it in my mind. What if that ever did come down?” said Carly. “It could have gone in lots of different directions. Of course it came in ours.”
On 2 a.m. on Jan. 5 Carly was sleeping in the front room of the house with their two-year-old son Rourke when she heard a loud crash and heard something fall onto the floor of the room.
It was pitch black at the time so she wasn’t sure exactly what it was at first, but then they realized what had happened.
The tree broke in half when it hit the house with the top part landing in the back yard and the bottom section resting on the house.
A branch pierced through the roof and came into the room Carly and Rourke were sleeping in, sending plaster to the floor.
Fortunately the large window in the room didn’t shatter despite the frame around it appearing to have buckled.
“I don’t know how that window didn’t smash out, but all the plaster came down,” said Carly. “We were fortunate. The overhang took the brunt of the force.”
Devon had been working a later shift and was still awake in another room playing some video games when he heard the tree fall and came rushing to make sure everyone was
OK. “It was kind of surreal,” he said.
“I had just got home. It seemed like it was one big gust of wind and then a bang.”
Their other son Gannon, who is four, woke up to the sound. The MacKays quickly got out of the house with the children to ensure there weren’t any further risks. That night they were able to go to Carly’s parents.
On Monday they were back in the home and watching as the final parts of the tree were carried away by Buck MacLean Excavating.
Barry MacLean said softwoods like the one that fell are at a greater risk of falling because they have shallower roots. A hardwood tree will typically have roots that go as deep as the branches.
Despite the misfortune of having the tree fall on their home, the MacKays say they are thankful no one was hurt and the damage wasn’t more serious than it was.
“It’s funny how things can happen so quickly,” said Devon.
“I don’t know how that window didn’t smash out, but all the plaster came down … We were fortunate. The overhang took the brunt of the force.” Carly MacKay