Fallen Tree And Branch Block Ashland Avenue

The creaking and moaning of a large elm tree and/or a huge branch on a big old water oak brought neighbors on Inman Park’s Ashland Avenue out to their porches in the stormy rain last night — just moments before both came crashing down to completely block the street.

The stately elm tree and the immense oak branch that had both heavily shaded the lower end of Ashland Avenue (just off of Lake Avenue) both fell from one side of the street, clear across to the yard of a house opposite. Power was lost instantly, because the fallen tree and branch knocked power lines down completely; along Ashland Avenue’s bottom and middle portions, power lines were all askew, even laying in the street and tangled on sidewalks and in yards.

Power along Ashland Avenue and part of Virgil Street was been out since 9:45 Wednesday night and was restored by noon today, although cable TV/internet (via Comcast) is still out.

“I heard heavy, gusting winds and cracking noises, then Shawn start screaming from the porch,” said Carroll Bailey, who lives in one of the homes closest to the scene. Shawn Lewis is an owner of the house where Bailey resides and he had yelled for Bailey to come out to the porch. Both watched as the giant tree and branch came crashing down toward them. In the pitch-blackness and rain, neighbors were outside going "Whoa" and surveying the damage with flashlights.

The entire elm tree and the major branch from the oak landed smack in the yard next door to Lewis and Baily, in front of the entrance to the home into which Andra McFarlane and her family had recently moved. (They moved in six weeks ago, just when another gigantic branch fell down, completely covering their backyard).

Parts of the fallen a tree landed on the front end of a Volvo station wagon; the degree of damage is still undetermined.

Welcome to the city in a forest and the storms of Georgia in heat.

“I’m just so grateful this house is set as far back as it is,” McFarlane said. “We heard the moaning for about five minutes. It was very subtle, but eerie. It was scary. We came out on the porch (an upper-level balcony), and immediately started moving ourselves and our stuff downstairs, in case the tree fell on the house.”

Added Ward Bradshaw: “Wow, just wow.” Bradshaw has lived in the neighborhood his entire life. His house, now under major repair, is just 50 or so feet up from the side of the street bearing the trees that snapped and fell. “It’s definitely put a damper on me being able to put new siding on my house today because we couldn’t use the power tools.”

But a crew from power line contractors Diversified Services, working for Georgia Power, was on the scene by 9am today, and by 9:30 they were starting to tackle the cavernous mess of thick branches and foliage that completely blocked the street. (Trash pickup had to wait at least a day, because the truck could not get through).

Adam Taylor, a worker with Diversified Services, called the scene “a massive job.”

Nearby Ashland Avenue neighbor Andy Gonzalez, who is the general manager and chef at Steinbeck’s in Decatur, warned neighbors about the food in their freezers and fridges.

Your mustard and mayo should survive, he said, “but once you open those doors, and once you get past 45 degrees for more than three or four hours, a lot of your stuff is done.”

Good advice for the next power outages.