Trees

AUBURN, Ind. (AP) - Police in northeastern Indiana say a package delivery driver was killed when a tree crashed onto his truck during a thunderstorm. The UPS truck was hit Tuesday evening as the storm moved through Auburn. The tree fell onto the truck's cab, crushing the driver's side. The DeKalb County coroner's office tells The Star of Auburn ( http://bit.ly/q25ZR0 ) that the driver was killed instantly in the city about 20 miles north of Fort Wayne. The driver's identity wasn't immediately released.

Did you know if a tree falls on a house, at least in St. Joseph County it doesn't have to be cleaned up? It has been nearly a month since a big storm ripped through the area. Trees were uprooted, homes nearly destroyed and power was out for days. While most homeowners are in the process of fixing their damage, a home in Granger still looks like the storm hit yesterday. On July 11, one month ago, Gary Winenger stood in his garage and watched the massive storm plow through his neighborhood.

GRANGER - Is a St. Joseph County family fighting a losing battle over the fate of a rare oak tree? The family wants answers to make sure their tree is protected. The Burr Oak on State Road 23 is hard to miss. Based on an arborist's evaluation a year ago, the tree is worth more than $36,000. And based on its size, it could be hundreds of years old. I&M Power says the tree threatens service and safety. The company wants to trim low-hanging limbs and branches to maintain appropriate clearance.

WARSAW --  Much of Kosciusko County is still picking up from last week's storms, but one man is helping to clean up by recycling what he can through his new business called Indiana Urban Lumber. It's lumber that would have otherwise been mulched, burned or sent to the landfill, but it's now getting a second life. He's your run-of-the-mill woodworker, except Bill Burr mills his own wood. But his lumber didn't come from trees in a forest, it all came from cities, towns parks and people's yards. Some of it had to be cut down for various reasons, but much of it is the result of severe weather.

If you own a home and live in Indiana, you now have new rights when it comes to protecting your trees from power companies. The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission recently issued an order saying utilities can't just enter onto private property and trim trees unless they have your permission. It means that while power companies need to be able to limit service interruptions, property owners have rights, too. The trees that sit along Bryan Cline's property line in South Bend didn't grow lopsided.

If you own a home and live in Indiana, you now have new rights when it comes to protecting your trees from power companies. The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission recently issued an order saying utilities can't just enter onto private property and trim trees unless they have your permission. It means that while power companies need to be able to limit service interruptions, property owners have rights too. The trees that sit along Bryan Cline's property line in South Bend didn't grow lopsided.

A Bristol resident got a scare when Monday morning’s thunderstorm sent a tree crashing down onto her buggy. Middlebury police say 25-year-old Marian Lehman was heading westbound on U.S. 20 at County Road 33 when the tree fell. It injured the horse but landed next to Lehman when it crashed through the roof, leaving her shaken but otherwise unharmed. Rescuers had to use a chainsaw to cut Lehman and the horse free. A veterinarian was called to check on the animal, but there is no word on the extent of its injuries.

For A Granger family, Monday’s morning’s strong storm made for a very close call. Winds – gusting as high as 81 miles per hour – uprooted three massive trees near Brian Dubie’s home. One of them came crashing down through his roof, into his bedroom, and landed on his bed.     Dubie and his wife had been sleeping there just hours before. They weren’t at home when the storm hit. But Dubie’s stepdaughter was. “When it first started I just thought it was … little branches.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Authorities say at least one man was injured in a motorcycle accident when strong thunderstorms with gusts of up to 81 mph blew through northern Indiana, knocking down trees and power lines. The Elkhart County Sheriff's Department reported that 24-year-old Jared Blosser of Goshen sustained a head injury when a tree snapped a power line that struck him, throwing him from his motorcycle about 10:55 a.m. Monday. There was no immediate word on his condition.

COLOMA — Monday morning’s storm ripped across Lake Michigan, pummeling areas along the lakeshore.  Roughly 80 mph winds uprooted trees and tore down power lines, leaving several thousand customers without power. As gusts of wind turned into sideways rain, Mother Nature bore down on Berrien County.  “The sheets of wind were so strong that we started finding the transformers popping, bursting into flames and we started seeing all these trees topple,” said Dean Sanders, who lives off M-63 near Hagar Shores.  As he watched two huge trees destroy his guest cottage, Sanders wondered if the thick glass on the banister around his nearby lake home could take any more.