Paul and Adrienne Winslow were at the back of their Anson Street home in Minden Sept. 3 when the winds began to pick up in the evening.
Paul Winslow investigated their bedroom to ensure the windows were closed. He said he noticed pieces of a tree had appeared there and then saw a branch had broken a hole in the ceiling.
The tree at the edge of their property had fallen on the front of their house – enough to cause significant damage, but not enough to completely break through the roof.
“An act of God, an act of nature, but boy, it sure can do a lot of damage,” Adrienne Winslow said. “But we’re lucky because some people lose their homes.”
The township saw heavy winds that night, felling branches and splitting trees on the street, requiring a cleanup effort the next day. But none was hit harder than the Winslow family, who had four holes punctured in their roof and a broken satellite dish. Their insurance company is still assessing the damage.
“Nobody was hurt, that was the main thing,” Adrienne Winslow said. “All the neighbours came out, just like when it floods here on Anson Street.”
The downed tree also caused some power line damage, which created sparks, the family said. Power was not down for long, but they called the fire department and Hydro One to deal with that damage and stop the fire hazard.
Despite the unfortunate start to their long weekend, the pair said the damage is repairable and it could have been worse. “I went and bought a lottery ticket,” Paul Winslow said. “Maybe my luck will change.”
“Anybody that’s had this, they know how scary it is,” Adrienne Winslow said. “We were lucky and there’s a lot of people that aren’t so lucky.”
