A couple in Snohomish County watched Wednesday as a massive tree that fell during a weekend storm and split their home in half was finally removed.
"There's no explanation for what the sound was," said homeowner Marlon Waske.
It's amazing Waske and his family are still alive after looking at the damage the tree left behind.
"My wife and my ears are still ringing. Feels like we got hit by a car," said Waske.
Waske said he was sitting on a chair in his living room on Saturday afternoon. His daughters were sitting right next to him on the couch.
They could hear strong winds slamming branches onto their roof and deck, he said. All of a sudden a big gust passed through.
"Right when a big gust hit… it was like a war was going on up there," Waske said. "And that's when my wife and I grabbed the kids and said 'It's time to go downstairs.'"
A large tree behind their home came crashing down just a few minutes later and destroyed everything in its path. It stopped about a foot from Waske's head, he said.
"Glass, drywall, debris just shootin' down and hitting the wall like 100 mph is what it seemed like. And a huge dust cloud did come," Waske said. "3 minutes earlier, it would have been my whole family dead. You know, it wouldn't have just been 1… it would have been all of us."
A local tree company came out Wednesday to remove the tree. Several others that had been marked near Waske's driveway last month were also removed.