Big wind hits Canyon, again

Residents in the Canyon are cleaning up fallen branches and trees after a windstorm Wednesday, the second one in less than a month. The storm came after a windstorm rocked the valley in mid-November leaving many trees uprooted, a garage destroyed and people without power for several days. The remains of fallen trees are still visible in Coram.

This week’s storm wasn’t as strong as last month’s, but it still damaged homes in Martin City. Merle Burrell has lived in his home near Montana Fur Trading Co. for 21 years.

At about 10 a.m. Wednesday, he was in the house and his 13-year-old son Morgan was in his bedroom when a tree fell on their roof.

“When they fell, he (Morgan) came running of there like a rat,” the father said. They were able to roll the trunk off the roof, but it demolished the chimney.

Next door a tree with two trunks shaped like a “V” fell on the corner of a mobile home where a man, who is about 85 years old, lives.

“He got pretty excited, but this stuff happens,” Burrell said. On Thursday morning, he and his son were cleaning up the damage to the mobile home and trying to cover the hole in the roof before the snow came.

They also plan to cut down a nearby tree that has a similar “V” shape because Burrell believes they’re weaker than trees with one straight trunk.

The weather was more winter-like by mid-day Thursday, with wet snow falling. More snow is expected over the weekend, with colder temperatures.