GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Local radio DJ Joe Piesz's Grand Rapids home was damaged Wednesday night when a massive tree crashed into his backyard during storms that swept through West Michigan Wednesday.
Piesz says he was coming up his driveway with garbage cans around the time the storm hit. He planned to move his car and bring his two dogs inside before the weather worsened.
"But apparently it got here quicker than I thought," Piesz said.
The tree fell within about a minute to a minute and a half, Piesz said. He described watching it happen as feeling "like it was a movie."
"It happened so fast, but it felt like it was in slow motion," he said.
The massive tree destroyed his backyard fence, railing, grill and stone cooker, and damaged a shed. Piesz said his immediate concern was for his two dogs, Benny and Paddington, who were in the backyard.
Piesz rushed through his house to the backyard, fearing the worst.
"I was screaming, I was swearing. I just… I just thought the absolute worst. I was in panic," he said. "I didn't give a dang about the house or what damage was done."
The dogs were found safe by the back door.
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Now Piesz and his wife are dealing with filing their first home insurance claim. An adjuster is scheduled to visit in the coming days. Piesz said he's most concerned about potential structural damage to his home.
"The biggest thing is actually getting a contractor out here. I don't know what's gonna happen with our house structurally, because the cosmetic stuff, I don't care what it looks like, that's fine, but if there's an actual problem with the wall or something like that, I guess we really don't know," he said.
Despite the stress and expected $5,000 deductible, Piesz said he's grateful everyone is safe.
"This sucks, but at the end of the day, like, everybody's okay. This is going to be something that I'll get to have, like, a memory six months from now," he said.
Piesz hopes the cleanup will be completed soon, starting with finding a way to cut up the massive tree.
The storm left other areas across West Michigan with downed trees and power outages. neighbors are cleaning up from Wednesday's damage while preparing for another round of severe weather expected Thursday night.
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