Bend-area residents deal with repairs, damage from gusty winds
(Update: adding comments from those hit by damage, tree service)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ)-- Many residents around the Bend area are dealing with the aftermath of damage caused by gusty winds on Sunday.
Across the High Desert, winds gusting at about 50 mph caused damage to homes and other structures and in some areas caused power outages.
Bridget Albert, a resident off Shepard Road in northeast Bend, told NewsChannel 21 high winds around noon Sunday destroyed her fence. She says she and her husband were outside moments before it happened, when they heard a boom and realized their fence had fallen.
"I think it's going to be several thousand dollars," Albert said Monday. "I think we're actually going to need a new fence, because the actual post broke with the wind."
Albert said they'll have repair workers coming by to give them quotes.
A southwest Bend resident had a fallen tree puncture her roof.
She said she and her husband were standing in their living room, taking a break from painting their kitchen walls, when the tree crashed through her kitchen ceiling.
"I thought I heard glass breaking, but it was my ceiling coming apart, falling into my sink and onto my dishes," she said. "So that part was scary."
NewsChannel 21 also spoke with Urban Forest Tree Service about the amount of damage and calls they'd received Monday.
Owner Boe Brodhun said there are occasions when healthy trees fall, for the most part, but he's noticed the majority of fallen trees were already failing.
"So everything that we've dealt with so far has been small-diameter trees," Brodhun said. "A lot of aspen trees have a problem here in Central Oregon with a pest that eats around the base of a tree.
"The damage has been pretty minimal, as far as we've seen. We haven't been called on any power lines or on vehicles, just mostly on greenhouses and roofs right now," he added.
Brodhun said the severity of damage in general depends on the amount of landing space and how quickly a tree falls.
