Massive, centuries-old tree falls onto Lexington home

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - A Lexington family is cleaning up after a tree fell onto their garage Thursday night.

It happened at a home on Central Ave, near Woodland Park. The homeowners tell us they were absolutely shocked when they saw the massive tree had fallen over.

“[I was] Just standing in the kitchen door all morning with my coffee just staring, aghast at the situation,” said homeowner Stephenie Hoelscher.

Hoelscher says she and her husband were getting ready for bed Thursday night when they heard a loud crash. When they realized that it came from their backyard, they rushed to a window and were met with this site.

A tree, that Hoelscher says is probably close to 200 years old, had been uprooted and crashed down onto their garage, which was serving as an apartment. The woman who lives there was inside when the tree fell, but we’re told she wasn’t hurt.

The tree took out the tenant’s porch, so Lexington firefighters had to help her escape through a window. Hoelscher says she’s still rattled when she thinks about it, but she’s grateful this wasn’t worse.

“We live in a close-knit neighborhood with a lot of houses really close together and just the thought of how many different ways that this tree could have come down, on our house, on our neighbor with her baby, more on the tenant’s house, is really kind of a terrifying thought,” Hoelscher said.

The homeowners tell me they have called out for some help to try and get this tree chopped up so they can get inside and take a look at the damage. They’ve also contacted an insurance adjuster to try to talk about the next steps.

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