St. Lawrence County Residents Survey Storm Damage

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George and Ofelia Drasney say they are thankful the microburst-like storm only took the shade trees and not their Colton home.

“The only thing I heard was like ‘clunk’. Never heard the tree breaking or ripping up,” said George.

The Drasneys lost eight trees to Tuesday’s violent storm, including the one that rests on their house.

“It was scary once we came out, but we’re thankful that my husband and I are okay,” said Ofelia.

But others weren’t so lucky.

Insurance adjusters were at Rachel Snyder’s home surveying the damage just hours after the house was ripped in half by a fallen tree.

Chain saws echoed through the air as homeowners cleaned up the mess left behind by the severe weather.

Others turned to generators for temporary power.

Two trees ended up in Bruce and Brenda Hubbard’s pool on the Folsom Road in Fine.

Peter Edwards of Colton considers himself one of the lucky ones.

“I’ve got two probably 80-foot pine trees that came down within a few feet of the house,” said Edwards.

The storm ripped through a 60 mile stretch of St. Lawrence County bringing winds up to 70 miles an hour.

Trees were uprooted, utility poles snapped like toothpicks and power lines were brought down - keeping National Grid and highway crews busy.

Campsites at the Higley Flow State Park in South Colton were littered with fallen trees.

Canadian campers Tom and Sharon Magee just missed getting hit when tree limbs snapped during the height of the storm.

“They came down, hit the windshield, bounced off the windshield,” said Tom.

Meanwhile, National Grid is using a helicopter with a special monitoring device to help identify trouble spots on power lines as repair crews work to restore electricity.

See John Friot’s report:

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