Winds, drought to blame after tree crashes into Morgan Hill home
MORGAN HILL, Calif. (KGO) -- There were some tense moments for a Morgan Hill family on Tuesday after part of a tree crashed into their house. The wind played a big role.
The city has yellow-tagged the house.
As the rain and wind hit the South Bay earlier Tuesday, Bev Jensen thought an earthquake had struck. "That's what made me look up, and look around, and then I noticed tree branches coming into my living room," she said.
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A part of an oak tree, one of the last in the community, had fallen onto a part of her historic house. "We've just been keeping a hold of it the best we can, watering it a little bit this summer, trying to take care of it. It was just its time, I guess," Jensen said.
Jensen says she and her husband, Don, bought the house nearly three decades ago because of the tree, which is more than 300 years old.
Just a few months ago, there was another close call when a branch broke off the same tree and fell atop a fence. An arborist at that time said the tree is stressed, but the more cutting you do on it, the worse it would be for the tree," Jensen said.
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Morgan Hill police say Tuesday's drought-related incident serves as a wakeup call. "We want people to take a look around their house, make sure their gutters are clean. If there's any trees that are hanging over their roof line, maybe have a professional come out and check to see if it's dry or rotting," Morgan Hill Police Dept. Sgt. Carson Thomas said.
The power has been turned off as the Jensens work to clean up the home.
"It's just a house, as my husband keeps saying. It's just a house. It's just a car. Those things can be repaired and fixed, and our homeowners and car insurance have been resourceful today, very helpful," Jensen said.
Family and friends are just relieved no one was hurt.
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Bay City News has contributed to this report.
