Woman’s home destroyed by tree during storm

Following recent storms, a woman and her brother were unhoused when a snow-laden tree crushed their trailer. Carla Becker of Royal Pines Estates told the Crier about her introduction to one of the dangers of mountain living.

CB: I was in the pop-out and the tree hit my neighbors’ trailer, cut it right in half. The tree was in the third space down, an empty space. They were supposed to cut those trees a while back, someone in the park told me that. (Neighbors) Don and Jerry were down in the desert, not there. I was. It broke the fall so when it hit my trailer it crushed the living room ceiling, it cracked in the ceiling in the pop-out, too. It leaks. I’m now staying in the club house. The cupboards in the bedroom and bathroom are askew, away from the wall about 6 inches, pretty messed up. Thank goodness I wasn’t sitting in the living room, or my son. It stopped short of hitting the next trailer, right at the edge of her shed.

TC: What was that like?

CB: Very scary, I was trapped inside. Early in the morning the snow had broken my awning. I wasn’t able to roll it up. That’s my fault. I was in the middle of paying for the trailer. Corporate is still figuring out what to do.

TC: Were you insured?

CB: I couldn’t get insurance up here because of the fire hazard. I’ve only been up here since August. This is my first winter. I love the place and all the people, just this tree.

TC: Where did you move from?

CB: I’m from the desert, Desert Hot Springs, raised in Palm Springs.

TC: You are staying in the Clubhouse now?

CB: They won’t let us go back there because of the fire hazard; I can go in and out to get food and stuff, but I can’t stay there. My brother is a special needs senior. He’s 72. I am a senior, too. My son trudged in through the snow, the unplowed roads that night, to be with us. He lives on North Circle Drive, the old Mile-High Inn. It happened (Wednesday) March 1, about noon. We didn’t get the roads plowed until, I think, Saturday.

TC: Do you have a way for people to help?

CB: My granddaughter did a GoFundMe. It’s raising some money. We don’t know what it’s going to cost. It’s on Facebook: “Help grandma fix her house.” Jillian Dixon set it up. She just got in a big accident a month ago. She’s out (of the hospital) now. It’s very kind of her to do this.

The fundraising page is at www.gofundme.com/f/pfn87p-help-fix-grandmas-house.