Winds wreak havoc in hills

By Tania Martin and Bridget Brady
EMERGENCY services were left with a real mess to clean up after winds lashed the hills last Monday.
Despite the storm being a normal spring weather event, SES workers still had their work cut out.
A family in Cockatoo were counting their lucky stars while a Belgrave man was amazed that more damage wasn’t done.
The hills area was the hardest hit with Emerald SES receiving 32 calls for help while in the foothills Knox had more than 15 calls.
Emerald SES controller Gerard Kennedy said his crew was on the road from 8am to 9pm.
In Cockatoo, Les Bray was outside with his wife when a 30-tonne tree crashed through the middle of his home shortly after 3pm on Monday 15 September.
Mr Bray realised exactly what had happened when he heard a loud crash.
His daughter Alycia, who was sitting in the lounge room at the time, was the couple’s first thought.
“At first we were just worried about where Alycia was, so we ran in there,” Mr Bray said.
The tree damaged six rooms in the house, and Mr Bray said the family was still unsure if it needed to be totally demolished.
“It doesn’t really matter, it’s only a house. I don’t know what we’ll do but it will all work out,” he said.
“The main thing is everyone is okay. The house doesn’t matter. People are the only thing that matters in the scheme of things.”
Mr Bray said he was relieved the family had insurance and were able to access emergency accommodation.
The insurance company removed the tree with a crane last Tuesday (16 September). Meanwhile in Belgrave, Clyde Owen was counting his lucky stars after part of his garage was damaged. But for Mr Owen the only fatality of the storm was a prized bike.