Sandy Ranger was in her Nanoose Bay kitchen, making her contribution to a pot luck dinner, when she heard what she thought was an explosion.
A 100-foot tree had just fallen on her and husband David's house during the wind and rain of Saturday afternoon.
"My first thought was a bomb had gone off in the neighbourhood," Sandy, a paramedic, said on Monday, adding that she related that thought to the nearby naval base. "I was thinking I had to grab my trauma kit and find out where this went off."
No one was hurt in the incident. Only Sandy and David were in the house at the time. Sandy estimated $50,000 damage to the house. One of her prized possessions, stored in the upper portion of the nine-year-old house in Nanoose Bay Estates, was spared.
"I was worried about my bagpipes," she said. "It's a family joke — my kids keep hoping they will get destroyed."
The tree crashed onto a skylight above the kitchen. The stained-glass panes were broken but hung on and did not shatter and fall toward her below.
Sandy said the damage is covered by insurance.
"There was a lot of structural damage, but thank goodness for the good construction of the house or it could have been nasty."
Sandy, who has lived with David in the house for about two years, said she was impressed with the response of those who lived nearby.
"Everyone in the neighbourhood either contacted us or offered to help."
Sandy said she advises everyone to have a good look at the trees around their homes.
"We had just taken a few dead trees down — this one we weren't worried about," she said. "But the roots were rotten apparently."