Residents recovering after powerful storm slams western Washington

WASHINGTON — The cleanup from one of the most powerful storms to hit western Washington began hours after the worst of the wind subsided Wednesday morning. While nearly impossible to count, trees of all sizes and species fell across the region, including several onto local homes.

“We heard the crack from the tree, we both came into the living room and watched this tree come down into our kitchen,” Michael Edmison, a Granite Falls homeowner, said. He and his wife have a camping stove they will use for cooking.

The home’s insulation is scattered through Edmison’s home, peaking through the gaps in the tree branches.

“It was very scary, very traumatic,” Michael said.

The tree was suspended on power lines above the ground when KIRO 7 crews went to the home. Edmison said the Public Utility District said to leave branches and trees alone until they inspect them.

In Lake Stevens, Terri Wright’s neighborhood is littered with downed trees, with the background noise of chainsaws and generators rippling through the streets.

“That was the only tree that could have hit us and it did,” Wright said, looking at the Sitka Spruce she and her family planted in the 70s as a Christmas tree.

The tree broke through the dining room window, missing her bedroom window by a few feet. Her nephew was sitting just a couple of feet from the window that was now broken. Wright noticed several transformers blowing and sparking up, and then the sound of the tree came.

“The sound of broken glass is just scary,” Wright said. “I have never seen people and two dogs move that quickly.”

Wright’s nephew came by Wednesday night to start the process of cleaning up the spruce.

Helping out was exactly what Luke Dequilettes and Marco Mediate planned to do Tuesday night. Fresh off a shift and excited about the wild weather to come, the two and their friend, Ben, took to the streets to clear debris where they could.

“We were just kind of driving around and whenever we would encounter a tree blocking the road, we would check for power lines and if it was safe to do so we’d cut the tree and move the debris,” Dequilettes, a former arborist, said.

“I’d say this is one of the wrost [storms] I’ve seen. It was really gnarly, it was pretty scary being out there,” Dequilettes said, “Be safe about it but, help the community around you. That’s important.”

The three estimate they cleared close to a dozen trees over a couple of hours. They hoped they made life a little easier for the first responders grueling through the storm.

“It’s the first [storm] we felt compelled to do something,” Mediate said.

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