Wind Update

It's been a crazy few days. We found my other rabbit, who was annoyed but unharmed. My Dad estimates we have between $3,000-5,000 worth of damage from the storm, including our fence, about a dozen or so shingles (we have an extremely steep roof which prevented further damage, but will make repairs much more difficult), and that section of roof damage that I took a picture of that I don't know how to describe. My dad also felt that a tree we planted 16 years ago was made too unstable by the wind and decided to cut it down. He estimates the value of the tree to be around $1000, but I'm mostly annoyed because it kept my room shady during the summer. Luckily we have insurance (except on the tree).

I'm thankful that our house wasn't even more severely damaged. Most of our neighbors lost 50-75% of their roof shingles. Friday our neighborhood was lined with the remnants of trees that had not weathered the storm. One of my neighbors had a tree crash through their bedroom window right next to the bed, where just minutes earlier the couple and two of their scared children had been sleeping. I have seen many extremely damaged cars, the country club golf course near my house is completely unrecognizable ( a neighbor told me that they lost nearly 400 trees), and most of the houses in my area are now unfenced. I have several friends who were without power for more than two days. The "Welcome to Kaysville" sign in front of Davis High is knocked down (maybe they can move it now, since Kaysville technically starts a mile south of the sign). Main street's trees--which were planted by the pioneers who settled the area-- are almost entirely gone (the majority of the remaining ones are those that were planted in 1999 after the other giant windstorm).  My mom's coworker has extreme structural damage on her house. The roof is no longer connected to the house...it's just sitting on top of it. There is a one-inch gap between her roof and where it is supposed to connect.

What has surprised me most is how quickly my neighborhood cleaned up the mess. Except for the missing trees, the missing fences, and the overall lack of shingles, you can hardly tell there was a storm at all. Everyone got together to help each other out. It was great! I even saw a group of kids who were about 8 walking around my neighborhood with a wagon, picking up shingles in yards and excitedly talking about how they were "helping out". It's nice to see people working hard for a common goal.

I am very thankful that my neighborhood wasn't hit harder. I fell so badly for those who were, and I hope they can recover from the storm quickly. There is supposed to be a less severe windstorm tonight, and my hopes are that the damage from this one is minimal.