Windstorm causes tree to fall on Smithfield mobile home
September 18th, 2013 Posted in OpinionSMITHFIELD − Strong winds caused a tree to fall on a trailer home Tuesday night at 610 W. 100 North in Smithfield. Bud L. Trappett, owner of the home, was not injured. He said he was standing on his front porch when he watched the giant tree fall.
“I heard the wind and stepped out on the porch and thought to myself, man this is a hurricane,” Trappett said. “Then all at once I saw tree limbs going everywhere.”
Damage to the mobile home has not been evaluated. Most of the damage occurred on the southwest corner, where the majority of the large branches landed. Trappett said he was immediately without power when the tree hit, and called the power company right away. It was a concerned neighbor who called the Smithfield police.
“We could’ve lost a life tonight,” said Trappett’s neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous. “It’s a little bit of damage. Thank goodness it wasn’t more.”
Corporal Salvador Toscano of the Smithfield Police Department said his main concern was Trappett’s safety. “There’s quite a bit of damage on the bottom of [the home],” said Toscano. “He’s very lucky. That tree is huge.”
Another concerned neighbor said Trappett has been asking the city to remove the tree for quite some time now. “Bud’s been writing to the city asking them to cut it down and do something about it,” she said. “It was pretty much dead. We’ve been worried about it.”
Toscano said he believes that the tree is on city property. Further investigation will have to be done before such details become clear.
Trappett said he is no stranger to wind storms and fallen trees as they were common in Idaho, where he used to live. “If I can survive Vietnam, I can survive anything,” he said.
NW
Tags: Bud Trappett, downed tree, Salvador Toscano, wind damage
Sorry, comments for this entry are closed at this time.