Falling cypress tree barely misses two children

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- An East Bay family had to move out of their house after a tree smashed through it, narrowly missing their two young children. The incident was one of the most extreme examples of the damage high winds brought to the Bay Area over the weekend.

"First thing we thought was earthquake, because the thing rumbled and crashed," Ben Wolstenholme recalled.

Wolstenholme and his family were sleeping when it suddenly sounded like the sky was falling, literally. It was a 60-year-old cypress tree the wind uprooted and sent smashing through Wolstenholme's roof. The 16,000-pound tree landed right between the bedrooms of the family's two small children.

"There's a bathroom between their two bedrooms and it went straight through the bathroom. So, in a way it's a blessing," he said.

The tree not only plowed through the roof, it damaged the foundation making the house too unstable for the Wolstenholmes who are now staying in a hotel. They moved in just four months ago. Contractor Andrew Easton was hired to fix the house.

"We're talking about roof structure, possible foundation, interior plaster, electrical, all of these things have been affected by this tree collapsing," he told ABC7.

The tree is just one of many that came down during the wind storm that whipped through the Bay Area this week. Tree crews are not only busy with the cleanup now, they are also cutting back limbs, so more big trees do not come down next time.

"Thin it out, you've got to open it up so the air can go right through," said Frank Chavez with Skyview Tree Service. "At least the ones that are closes to the houses or the ones that point toward the house."

For the Wolstenholmes, it is too late. They will not be able to move back into their house for several months.

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oakland, storm, wind, accuweather, laura anthony

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