Lake Tapps area hit hard as strong winds send trees crashing into homes



LAKE TAPPS, Wash. -- The strong winds brought down trees around the Pacific Northwest on Tuesday, especially in the Lake Tapps area.

"All of a sudden we got one of those gusts that just keeps coming and coming and coming," said Rick Nelson. "And I noticed that the trees are not returning to the vertical at all."

One of the largest trees snapped and came crashing down on Nelson's home. His wife, Lenora, was inside.

"It just crashed, " said Lenora. "And, of course, I screamed."



Lenora was standing in the path of the tree, and could have been seriously hurt, but a beam saved the tree from going through to the bottom floor where she was standing.

"It was frightening. I ‘m just thankful no one was hurt," said Lenora.

That’s also how the Hay family felt a few miles away in describing the damage to their new rental home just recently built on Lake Tapps. Now, they are thankful for the delays in final inspections.

"That might be a blessing in disguise," said Jonathan Hay. "It took so long that no one is living in there right now."

The large Douglas Fir tore through two bedrooms in the home. A large branch could be seen bursting through the hallway ceiling.

All around the Lake Tapps area, there are downed trees into homes, some large, others small. Power is also out to most of the area, while clean-up is just getting under way.

"Man, it’s just a minefield of trees and branches," said Hay. "Yeah, it’s pretty bad."