A massive tree came toppling over onto four homes Wednesday morning in Atascadero, causing major damage.
Some of the residents were home when the pine tree came crashing through a couple of the bedrooms.
It happened at around 6:45 a.m. on Amapoa Avenue.
“That’s my sister’s room right there and it fell straight through,” explained Trevinor Inlow. “She was lucky enough to not be sleeping in her bed during that time.”
Inlow lives in one of the four units damaged by the massive pine tree. He was in the living room when it came crashing down.
“Inches from me. It was very scary,” Inlow added.
We got a look inside his sister’s room…
“I had a jewelry box right there. It was everywhere. My nightstand is crushed,” said Rilley Inlow.
“I feel blessed that she wasn’t in here,” Inlow continued. “I looked through the blinds, saw what was going through her room and I jumped up… Luckily, she was coming out of that room at the same time so I was like, ‘Thank God.'”
Inlow says he’s had a lot of bad luck lately.
“When the tree collapsed it fell on top of this,” he said, pointing to his ’96 Toyota Tacoma. He just recently had the windshield repaired.
On Wednesday morning, he found it buried under tree branches and leaves, destroyed once again.
“I just got it a couple of weeks ago so it was kind of heartbreaking,” he said.
Another resident is counting her lucky stars.
“I was laying right here and I woke up to the sound of a tree falling and for some reason, I had a reaction where I just scrambled back and all of a sudden the roof fell in with the tree,” explained Dawn Wellner.
A massive pine tree came crashing through four rental units this morning in #Atascadero This woman was laying in her bed when she heard the tree outside snapping. This is the aftermath. She says she’s so lucky to be alive. 🙏 @KSBY pic.twitter.com/kkryh29JhZ
— Alexa Bertola (@Alexa_Bertola) February 13, 2019
Looking at the damage, Wellner still can’t believe she was in the same spot where the tree fell just 30 seconds after she moved out of the way.
“I mean, look at this. I could have lost my legs… I could have lost myself, you know,” Wellner said.
A gofundme for her can be found here.
The four-plex is red tagged, meaning no one is able to live in the homes. The landlord tells KSBY it’ll probably be at least six months until things are back to normal.
Landlord says it will be at least 6 months until things are back to normal. Will need to rebuild. @KSBY pic.twitter.com/yT8IAbCLda
— Alexa Bertola (@Alexa_Bertola) February 13, 2019
The Red Cross is helping the eight people displaced with some short-term housing and food. A gofundme page has been set up for the Inlow family.
The landlord says the units were built in 1969 or 1970 so the tree was most likely planted back then.
Sam’s Tree Service responded to the property Wednesday afternoon and used a crane to remove the tree.
Sams Tree Service is clearing the tree – they are using a crane. Crews believe the tree weights 100,000 + pounds pic.twitter.com/Q4CmPfLSmM
— Alexa Bertola (@Alexa_Bertola) February 13, 2019
