Tree crashes into Yuba City home, misses 5-year-old on couch by inches
YUBA CITY — A Yuba City woman named Donna is grateful that her 5-year-old granddaughter is alive after a tree came crashing through her home on Sunday night.
A nearly 100-year-old pine tree destroyed Donna's home on Richland Road.
"I think we're all just still in shock," Donna told CBS13. "My granddaughter, she didn't even want to come back here."
Donna's granddaughter was lying on the couch when the branches broke through and covered her with drywall, but the young girl's mother yanked her up just in time.
"The branch – actually, the pointed one pointed that way right at where her head would have been," Donna said while showing CBS13 the scene.
Donna's husband had been in the garage moments before.
"It's just like, we could have lost both of them, so it's hard," Donna said. "It's really hard."
The tree's twin survived the storm and was still standing about 90 feet high in front of neighbor Patricia Smith's home.
"All of a sudden, we heard 'wam!' " Smith said. "You can see it took the power line down and it's connected to our house."
The tangle of tree limbs and power lines made for a mess. The power on the street had already been out when the tree went crashing down. Smith said most of the street had power restored by Monday morning, but she was still in the dark.
Donna said she is grateful that her family is alive because she knows this was not the case for everyone in the storm.
Across town on Tres Picos Drive, 82-year-old David Gomes was crushed and killed by a redwood in his backyard. Officers believe he was using a ladder to try and clear the tree away from his home.
The wind gusts were less intense on Monday but were a reminder of the devastation it can cause.
"I am just glad we came out of it alive," Donna said.
Smith said she plans to have the second pine tree that survived the storm removed to ensure nothing like this happens again.
Donna and her family are currently staying in a motel, waiting for insurance and the eventual removal of the tree.