Plenty of Damage, but No Injuries in Bibb County

One of the features that attracted Leslie Reynolds to her home in north Bibb County was the trees.

Those same trees in her backyard were knocked over by powerful winds Sunday night, and they crushed a sunroom in the back of the house as the Reynolds family waited out the storm in a closet.

"It hurts more to lose those trees than the house," Reynolds said Monday afternoon. "They were nice and shady. … It was one of the reasons we bought the house" at the corner of McKinney and Pineridge drives.

There were plenty other pockets of damage across Bibb County, but no storm-related injuries were reported, said Johnny Wingers, director of the Bibb County Emergency Management Agency.

Weather officials said Monday that straight-line winds — not a tornado — caused Bibb County’s damage, which ran from the Lake Wildwood area across the northern end of the county and on to the River North development off Arkwright Road.

About a hundred trees were walloped or knocked over, but there wasn’t a final tally for the number of businesses and homes damaged.

When John and Gigla Cramer arrived at their Dickens Drive home Monday morning, they found that a huge oak tree had crushed part of their roof and knocked the chimney clean off.

Ironically, John Cramer, a retired Mercer University professor, had taken steps to try to prevent the trees on his property from causing damage. His home was the only one on his street that took a hit.

He had had several pine trees on the property removed as a precaution and the oak tree inspected every year to make sure it was healthy.

"We had a lot of big pines taken out because we didn’t want damage," he said, pointing to his roof as a crane worked to lift part of the tree off it. "Lo and behold. … That massive tree was right in the line of fire."

Many people were at home, tracking the storm on TV when they learned that the storm was moving into their area.

John Trimboli, a Macon physician, was watching the news when he saw that the storm was heading directly into the Lake Wildwood area.

"I was watching the weather report when they said to take cover," said Trimboli. Moments later, a tree crushed his garage and damaged much of his second floor.

"I’m from New York and I’ve never heard a tornado before. Ten seconds later, (part of the roof and) the fixtures just caved in."

It was a rare case in which not taking cover proved providential for Trimboli.

"I was supposed to go under the stairwell," he said. "But if I had done that, I probably would have died, because that’s where (the tree) hit."

A domino effect did in Bryan Schien’s home on Kathryn Drive. One tree knocked over a second tree, which crashed into his son’s bedroom on the second floor.

Schien’s wife and son were visiting family in Florida, so he and his dog took refuge in a bathtub when the winds picked up.

"All of a sudden I hear a crash," he said. "There was water pouring inside."

Water soaked through the bedroom and into the dining room beneath it. Schien said he had cleared out all of the fine china and other breakables from the dining room before the storm hit.

A few feet made all of the difference in some locales.

Schien said that had the tree blown five more feet to the right, it would have destroyed most of his roof. Behind Schien’s house, a tree from Mavis Dixon’s yard landed right between her house and her neighbor’s, causing no damage. Had it fallen a few feet to the left, it would have demolished her bedroom, where she stayed during the storm.

"We’re so lucky it fell where it did," she said. "I got shivers when I saw it this morning."

Residents were putting things in perspective Monday as they adjusted.

"Nothing irreplaceable was lost," Reynolds said. "That’s all I care about. We were praying (during the storm). … I found out what great neighbors I have. They helped put the tarp (on the roof) during the rain."

To contact writer Phillip Ramati, call 744-4334.

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