Campers lucky to be alive after giant tree falls
ToolsRelated ContentBy KATU Web StaffNEAR CANNON BEACH, Ore. - Campers staying at a state park on the Oregon coast escaped with their lives after a giant old growth tree came falling down in the middle of the night. The tree fell around midnight at Oswald West State Park, which is south of Cannon Beach.
A picnic table, chairs and other camping equipment were crushed when the tree came down, but it missed a tent. According to other campers, a husband, wife and young girl were camping in the spot and all three escaped injury. Fellow camper Thomas Fortune, who is visiting fom Virginia, described what happened. "We were in our tent," he said. "It was probably midnight and we just heard a giant explosion. It sounded like fireworks and an earthquake all at once. And then people were screaming. So we got out of our tent to find out what happened and came over here and found this giant tree and everybody around it. People were counting people, making sure everybody was safe. And their tent was literally the only thing around that didn't get squashed. Their picnic table was squashed, their chairs were squashed, but they were fine."
Julie Mae Williams, a dump truck driver who was staying at the campground because she was scheduled to work in the area, was killed a day before her 51st birthday. Recent rain that had saturated the soil around the tree was blamed. The tree was being used as a light pole. |
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