By Nathan Hardin
nhardin@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY – From the loud cracks and whipping of splintered wood, Ann Kesler knew immediately what was happening.
She and her family were inside their home on Bringle Ferry Road Tuesday night when they heard the rush of leaves.
“I thought, ‘The tree’s down, and the roof is coming down,'” Kesler said.
The large tree landed just feet from her bedroom about 9 p.m. But the falling trunk crushed at least two, and possibly a third, vehicle.
The sheer amount of leaves and wood covering the driveway made it difficult to assess the damage, she said.
The tree appeared to bring up very little of its root system, but snapped smaller trees in its fall.
The tree fell across the roof of a red Chrysler, shattering the windows and pressing the tires almost flat.
The tree also snapped a power line, she said, which was later disconnected by a power company employee.
Standing beside the debris Wednesday morning, Kesler remained upbeat.
“God’s been good. Nobody was hurt,” she said.
Kesler said she looked at a limb hanging from the ill-fated tree Tuesday and remarked to a relative that they needed to cut it down.
Problem solved, she said.
“Now we have firewood, but we don’t have a fireplace,” she said laughing.
Kesler was one of several making calls to power companies Tuesday.
Frank Thomason said there were several calls throughout Rowan County for power lines and trees down.
But no serious injuries were reported, he said.
According to the National Weather Service, Rowan County got about an inch of rain in a 24-hour period.
A fire that claimed the Trading Post building at Camp John Barnhardt near Badin Lake may have ignited during the storm.
“The Fire Marshal’s are still working to determine the cause. Speculation is that the fire started around the afternoon storms that rolled through the area,” a Facebook page for the Central North Carolina Council of Boy Scouts of America said.
A phone call and email to the Stanly County Fire Marshal’s Office was not immediately returned Wednesday, nor was a call to a Central Council scouting executive.
No one was hurt in the fire, the post said.