FORKS — The winter wonderland provided by this week’s snowstorm proved dangerous for one Forks-area resident.
Marcia Bingham, executive director of the Forks Chamber of Commerce, was sitting at her home computer Wednesday morning when a 150-foot spruce tree fell onto her roof about 15 feet away.
The trunk rested on top of the house, about six miles north of Forks, with branches puncturing the ceiling and walls.
Bingham said calling her “startled” would be an understatement.
“I jumped up quite quickly,” she said.
“I am very lucky.”
Bingham said she believes the weight of the snow caused the tree to fall.
Her neighbor, Lonnie Archibald, said winds were gusting at about 20 to 30 mph when the tree fell at about 7:30 a.m.
Archibald, a freelance photographer who often publishes in the Peninsula Daily News, said some of the tree’s limbs hit the bank of the Sol Duc River, which absorbed some of the impact.
“She’s fortunate she wasn’t hurt,” he said.
Bingham had hired D&H Enterprises of Forks to remove the tree Wednesday.
She didn’t have an estimate for how much the damage cost but said she can still live in the home until repairs are made.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
