The severe storms that moved through New Jersey on Tuesday sent a 100-foot oak tree crashing onto a family's home, tearing through the roof. The tree had been part of the lives of multiple generations of the family it once shaded.
Fixing the house is only part of the aftermath. Losing a tree with that much family history could prove just as difficult for the homeowners.
What happened?
On Tower Drive in Maplewood, Tuesday's storms toppled a huge oak down onto a home, according to ABC7 New York.
Homeowner Julia Cerny said the heaviest damage was near the upper part of the home.
"It's mostly the attic. It's a hole in the roof," she said.
Not only did it severely damage the house — it also carried many sentimental memories for the family. She said the oak had long been a part of family life and that they had repeatedly tried to preserve it as it got older. "We had a swing on it, and the kids grew up with that. So lots of memories," she stated.
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"We had it looked at very often by tree companies and experts, with samples and trimming and all the things that we could have done to save it for as long as we could," she said.
John Zelenka, of Z Tree Cutting Experts, said the collapse was likely caused by a mix of heavy rain, sunshine, saturated ground, and wind. His crew handled five calls that day, and he said the Maplewood tree was the biggest of them.
The storms also caused damage in Haworth, where another tree came down onto a home on Spring Lane, crushing a generator and damaging the house, ABC7 New York reported. Homeowner David Cieplicki said he was inside eating breakfast when he heard it starting to crack.
Why does it matter?
Extreme weather disasters becoming more frequent pose a threat to livelihoods and safety by damaging homes, knocking out power, disrupting travel, and leaving behind costly cleanup and repair bills.
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They can also create public health concerns, from injuries during storms to mold, heat exposure, and emotional stress after homes are damaged.
In this case, both households narrowly avoided worse consequences. Cerny's home was thankfully empty when the oak came down, and Cieplicki said he had almost left for the Jersey Shore shortly before the tree struck his house.
One resident interviewed after the storms also pointed to a broader pattern, saying, "It does seem with climate change that the storms are getting more frequent, more intense, with more flooding and flash flooding, which is scary."
What's being done?
Cleanup crews are now working to remove damaged trees while minimizing any additional damage to structures below them.
Zelenka said the work must be done carefully, especially when a tree lands on a historic home.
"You've got to start taking off all the branches, anything that's loose first," he said, noting that the Maplewood home had a slate roof that required extra care.
Even well-maintained trees can fail in extreme conditions. Regular inspections, trimming weak limbs, and watching for root or soil issues can help reduce the risk, though they cannot eliminate it during severe storms.
"We're just grateful that nobody was home and hurt," Cerny said.
Cieplicki echoed that relief after his own near miss: "I was going to leave for the Jersey Shore at 9 a.m. Thank goodness I didn't go."
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