BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Thursday was a summer day much like any other: Sunshine, blue skies, not a trace of wind.
Mother Nature taking a siesta after one rowdy night on the town.
Throughout many neighborhoods, folks were seen taking a leisurely stroll alone or with children in tow.
Tanja Ribas was among the latter. She and her young children were joined by a friend and her young son as they walked along Woodmont Drive.
“This is incredible, that the storm could do this to a tree this size."Tanja Ribas, West Bethlehem
As the group approached a tall maple tree, the kids did what kids do — they climbed it.
Not up it. But across it.
A massive 60-foot tree lay across Woodmont like a natural roadblock, having been uprooted from its spot along the sidewalk during Wednesday night’s destructive storm, which tore through the Lehigh Valley.
“This is incredible,” said Ribas, who resides just up the street from the downed tree. “That the storm could do this to a tree this size.
“You know, when the storm was happening, our [12-year-old] daughter, Selina, was looking out the window. Then she said, ‘Dad, look at those clouds. They don’t look so good.'”
'Where's my tree?'
Sandy George lives a few houses up from the downed tree.
“I didn’t hear the tree go down,” she said. “But the wind was insane. I thought our windows were going to crash in. Fortunately, we didn’t lose power or have any damage.”
Throughout the West Bethlehem area, much of the visible damage from the storm were downed and damaged trees and power lines. Tree branches were visible on many streets throughout the neighborhood.
One street over from Woodmont, at 1822 Pelham Road, Tina Zuniga sat in a chair reading a book outside her home Thursday morning.
In her front yard lay a tree downed by the storm.
“We were coming back from dinner around 7 or 7:30 last night,” Zuniga said. “As we approached the house, I said, ‘Where’s my tree?’
"When we got to the house, I saw it in the yard.
“We didn’t have damage to the house, fortunately, but we don’t have any power. PPL is saying we should have it back sometime Friday afternoon.”
Zuniga saw a silver lining in the dark cloud.
“At least one good thing is my neighbor came over with a chainsaw to cut it up,” she said. “It all could’ve been much worse.”
'Better days are coming — I hope'
Down the street from Zuniga's, the power of nature again was on display. A silver maple tree cracked in half from its spot at the curb and fell across the road.
Up the street from the Zuniga’s, Melissa Fahringer frowned, with hands on hips, in a neighbor’s yard.
“I was lucky. There was so much rain and wind and hail banging on the house. I saw the tree break off from the wind. Like I said, I was lucky.”Hal Hagemann
The roaring of chainsaws throughout the neighborhood paled in comparison to the roar of frustration grinding in Fahringer’s head.
“My boyfriend and I were standing in the doorway watching the storm,” she said. “I saw the tree right there [at the curb] fall.
"It clipped the gutter on the corner of the house and the tree landed right on my car and smashed the back window.”
Fahringer shook her head.
“Better days are coming — I hope,” she said.
Not so lucky were the residents at 1804 Pennsylvania Ave. in West Bethlehem. Parts of a large tree in the front yard broke off, landing against the home and atop three vehicles on the property.
About a mile away, Hal Hagemann stood in his front yard at 1949 W. Union Blvd., Bethlehem, thanking the fates for sparing his home from damage.
The storm knocked down a tree at the curb outside his home, but didn’t damage his vehicle or his house.
“I was lucky,” he said. “There was so much rain and wind and hail banging on the house,” Hagemann said as he watched Charlie Gimbar of Green Shadow Tree Service in Lower Saucon Township cutting the downed branches.
“I saw the tree break off from the wind. Like I said, I was lucky.”
