Fallen tree splits house in half during storm

PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV/Gray News) - A Gresham, Oregon, couple said they are full of mixed emotions and adrenaline after a storm blew a tree on top of their house Saturday.

The tree that ended up splitting the home in half landed just feet from where Cason and Philip Wolcott were sitting shortly after eating lunch.

“We’re watching the trees just kind of swaying, and all of a sudden, Philip starts yelling, ‘It’s us, it’s us, it’s us,’ and we watch the tree crack and shift and then start falling,” Cason Wolcott said, describing the moment they realized a 150-foot tree was headed straight towards their kitchen.

She said they were just five feet from where the trunk landed.

Philip Wolcott said it happened in slow motion, and he was just hoping the tree wouldn’t kill them.

“We came very close to being at least severely injured,” Philip Wolcott said.

Thankfully, the couple, their two dogs and a cat all made it out safely.

“Everything happened the way it was supposed to happen,” Cason Wolcott said. “It just sucks.”

Their car was totaled, and they’re currently working with insurance to learn what can be salvaged of the house.

“Can’t quite feel like it’s real yet,” Philip Wolcott said. “We’ve got a lot of work to rebuild. Hopefully, we can.”

“It’s all of the emotions all at once. We’re happy to be alive; we’re sad that we don’t have a house anymore,” Cason Wolcott described. “Every time I come back, my adrenaline starts up again because I remember the noises and what happened.”

Cason Wolcott said this isn’t the first winter their street has had trees fall, and she said she hopes their neighbors heed that warning before freezing rain returns.

“Be prepared. Get stuff together before it happens. And watch. Pay attention,” Cason Wolcott said. “You just don’t think it’s going to happen to you until it cuts your house in half.”

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