by Bob Dougherty
A mature Douglas fir tree fell during the storm early Monday Morning, hitting a house on Fernwood Drive in Cuesta La Honda. The following is an eyewitness account of the incident by Bob Dougherty, a neighbor of the resident whose home was hit by the tree.
"My house is on a steep hill on Fernwood Drive, surrounded by mature Douglas firs with average heights about 160 feet. The winds had been strong and the rains heavy throughout Sunday night and early Monday morning.
From my bed I heard the sound of wood cracking in the dark, early morning hours and got out of bed twice to try to find its source. The third time I got up, I used a flashlight and discovered a Douglas fir about 20 feet from my deck showing freshly exposed wood about 15 feet above the ground. It was obvious that this tree was soon going to fall, and my neighbor's house was below it.
I frantically looked for my neighbor's phone number in case he hadn't hear the cracking sounds. I let his phone ring while the cracking sound increased in both frequency and intensity. There was no answer on the phone, and I ran back to my deck and within a minute the Douglas fir structurally failed. It was then that I realized that being this close was not a good idea, but it was too late to move and I seemed mesmerized. The tree made a tremendous sound as it broke in two. There was a more distant crash and the ground shook with a thud as it impacted the Earth. A strong smell of pine filled the air from the freshly exposed wood. 
At this point I put my shoes on and quickly started to make my way down a winding, muddy path to my neighbor's house. I noticed, to my relief, that his truck wasn't in the driveway, but wasn't sure if anybody else might have been in the house. I saw that the tree took out the power lines to his house, and the tree initially appeared to have missed the structure, but as I walked behind the house, I saw a gaping hole and the contents of the bedroom spread out below on the hillside. The bedroom was completely destroyed, although the rest of the house was intact. Using a flashlight, I looked into the hole inside the house, but really couldn't see clearly through the broken wood and debris. The rain had stopped, but I still heard the sound of water running. Lights turned on in the windows of several neighbors who felt the tree hit the ground. I went back up the hill and called 911, and waited a short time until Larry and Cathy Whitney of the Fire Brigade arrived."
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