What a week!

We really needed the snow to put an end to the drought in Northern California, but so much, so fast created some problems in the Almanor Area.  It all started about 12:30am on Thursday morning when the freeze alarm called us warning that there was a power outage at the cabin.  When I got up on Thursday morning I called for the current status and not only was the power out but the phone lines were down.  I kind of got a hint that there was major problems when the PG&E outage map changed the estimated time of restoration from 10:00am on Thursday to 6:00pm and finally to 6:00pm on Friday.  On Friday morning I finally was able to contact Carl (our neighbor) on his cell phone and he said the snow was piling up on the trees and many had broken off and fell across the power lines.  At about 8:00am Friday I made the decision to head up to Lake Almanor and winterize the cabin because only God knows when the power would be restored.  With so much snow sticking on the trees I could only imagine how many times the power would be lost and the weatherman indicated that the storms were going to continue through next week.  

I knew Carl was running low on diesel fuel for his tractor so I threw in three jerry cans and stopped at the gas station and filled up everything.  The roads were in very good condition with little traffic (all sane people were cuddled next to the fire) and when I pulled up to Carl and Mary's house at about 11:00am. all the neighbors were in the street enjoying a lull in the weather.

Matt mentioned that there was a couple of trees leaning toward our house and I should probably check them out.  The cabin was pretty much snowed in and I had to wade through waist high drifts to get to the front door.  We noticed that the big fir tree on the north side of the cabin had lost most of the snow and had straighten up considerably. ( I didn't notice the top was missing)




My first clue that something wasn't right was when I entered the kitchen.  Splinters of wood, chunks of snow and pine needles indicated there was a major problem.

I really didn't want to step pass the mess in front of the island and look up, but I felt like a moth heading for a flame.  It's about 25 feet to the ceiling and the next image can be summed up with my next thought.  Holly sh_t.

This photo really doesn't show the real magnitude of the damage.  It looks like a little branch sticking through the roof.

Now this photo shows the size of the treetop.  It is about six and a half feet long, 8 inches in diameter at the base and all the limbs were sheared off when it passed through the metal roof.  The Fir tree that it came out of was at least 100 feet tall and was located right next to my kerosene tank.  The section that broke off was probably 15 feet long and when it pierced the roof  it broke in half and the larger   section slide off the north side of the roof and nailed my kerosene tank.  The collision broke off the outlet valve and 200 gallons of kerosene poured into the snow.  I don't know what is worse, a whole in the roof or a hazardous spill that by law has to be reported to the Environmental Health Department.  Trying to hide a spill like this would be very risky since law requires spills of this magnitude to be reported immediately and if you don't it would be very costly. (I don't think my insurance covers environmental fines from the government.

The photo to the left shows the butt of the tree stick out of the roof and the topless tree just to the right of the hole.

Carl was a ton of help clearing the driveway so the roofers could get their equipment on the roof.

I found the tree stick through the roof about 11:15am, called the insurance company, the roofers, filed a hazmat spill with the National Response Center and by 4:30pm the roof was patched and ready for cleanup.  The roofers did a great job and the house should be water tight until we can remodel after the snow melts.

The Environmental Health people are going to inspect the spill site on Monday and come up with a plan for the cleanup.  The gentleman that I talk with said that kerosene tends to gel up in snow and doesn't flow like gasoline.  We will probably need a backhoe to dig out all the contaminated dirt and haul it off to a hazmat site.  The spill is at the base of three large fir trees and I can't imagine removing any dirt without disrupting the root system making it a hazard since they are leaning toward the house.  I love the trees, but the thought of another tree coming through the roof out weighs that love.  There is another Cedar tree I hope we can also remove in conjunction with this claim.  Pay now or pay more later???  It makes sense to me anyway.

The next step is getting bids to repair the damages.  I haven't a clue what this will cost and since the metal roof is interlocking panels I can't see how the repairs can be done right without stripping the whole roof. I want the area around the hole to be stripped to the rafters to make sure nothing is structurally compromised.  I sure hope they can match the color of the roofing and also the tongue and groove pine ceiling.

Here is the culprit.   Maybe I should use it in my next woodworking project for the cabin.(or firewood)