High winds fell trees across Sisters

Powerful winds uprooted and broke big ponderosa pine trees across Sisters Sunday afternoon, December 1, sending them plunging into buildings or crashing onto city streets.

Remarkably, no one was seriously injured in a series of incidents across town.

A mighty gust of wind uprooted the pine that stood next to the Ski Inn on Cascade Avenue in Sisters at about 2:20 p.m. on Sunday, sending the trunk crashing through the front of the restaurant.

Mike Smith of Sisters was eating at the counter when the tree came through the roof.

He said, " Just boom! Like a bomb went off. (Stuff) just flew everywhere, blew me off my stool."

Smith reported that there were about a dozen staff and patrons in the restaurant; all escaped serious injury. A waitress was "banged up" according to witnesses, and she was treated at the scene.

Smith's red Ford 150 pickup truck was partially under a limb and debris from the restaurant. It didn't appear too badly damaged, but Smith was forced to wait till the tree was removed to assess the situation and get the rig out of there.

Smith has been coming to Ski Inn for decades - since it was known as Smitty's.

"I usually park over there," he said ruefully, pointing at the open gravel parking lot to the west.

Numerous people at the scene commented that it seemed miraculous that no one was killed or injured when the massive tree sheared through the building.

An account to provide help to the displaced employees of Ski Inn and their families has been established at the Sisters Branch of Bank of the Cascades. The name of the account is The Ski Inn Employee Donation Account 4409957. Donations may be sent to P.O. Box 520, Sisters, OR, 97759 or dropped off at the branch. For more information call 541-549-2061.

Winds were heavy all day. At about 3 p.m., the wind gauge at Hoodoo was clocking gusts of 58 mph, with sustained winds of 45 mph.

At about 3:30 p.m., another tall ponderosa fell against the big rust-colored building on the south side of Hood Avenue where it curves to meet Highway 20. The trunk rested against eaves with the top of the tree looming over the roof.

Davis Towing responded to the scene at the request of firefighters to remove a pickup truck that was right in the path of the tree if it were to slide down the edge of the roof toward the street.

At 4:45 p.m., a ponderosa on Hood Avenue snapped under the strain of a heavy gust and came crashing down.

"Amazingly, no one was hurt," passing motorist David Banks reported. "I know, because I was going through the intersection, turning into Melvin's Market, as the tree was snapping and falling. It fell right behind our vehicle, which had three human passengers and three dogs."

Banks noted that "Rosie Horton, shopping at Melvin's at the time, called 911. I placed flares in the intersection and traffic was directed around the fallen tree. Crews arrived in about five minutes to control the scene."

Trees were also blown down in Camp Sherman, with no reported injuries or damage.

Winds diminished overnight, followed by a soaking rain.

By Wednesday, the forecast called for frigid temperatures, with highs only reaching into the mid-20s across Sisters Country.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

• Email: editor@nuggetnews.com
• Phone: 5415499941