ANDOVER — Margie Ballou was inside when she heard a loud noise during Friday’s sudden storm.
“I heard a big boom or crack and discovered we had a tree on top of our house,” said Margie Ballou, who lives with her husband at the 22 Woburn St. dwelling. “Almost like an explosion.”
The impact of the tree sent debris an estimated 100 feet.
It was just one of hundreds of homes damaged in the fast-moving Friday afternoon storm, which left thousands without electricity and blocked roads with downed trees, limbs and powerlines.
Ballou said her husband has so far been able to cut away the major trunk of the tree which had been resting on the house. She said they didn’t think she could get a tree company to come in because they would all be busy.
“I didn’t think there was any possibility of anyone being available,” she said. “I just assumed the damage was widespread.”
However, she added that a professional crew should be coming soon to get rid of the tree, which also pierced a number of holes in their roof.
“We had rain coming in several places,” she said. “I ran around and put buckets in place.”
Ballou said “fortunately” the rain stopped soon after.
A branch from a nearby oak tree also landed at the front of their house.
Despite the tree on their house and the widespread damage to the area, the Ballou family never lost power.
“The lights flickered,” she said. “We lost our landline for the phone, for a little while, not for too long.”
“We are lucky nobody was hurt,” Ballou said. “All of this is stuff that can be fixed.”