Fallen Tree Crushes House

A Glenwood house was crushed Saturday afternoon by a fallen oak tree.

The large tree snapped above its trunk during a thunderstorm shortly after 1 p.m. The severed section of the hollowed-out tree fell in a southeasterly direction before landing on the front portion of a house at 501 N. Vine St.

A neighbor said she notified authorities of the incident after hearing a loud noise and then seeing the crushed house under the tree when she looked down the street.

Glenwood Fire and Rescue personnel were concerned about the integrity of the structure when they arrived on the scene, but soon learned the occupant of the house, Katie Davis, was in Council Bluffs. Davis returned to her house after being notified of the situation by telephone from Sgt. Kim Clark, a deputy with the Mills County Sheriff’s Office.

Davis’ pet cat was found to be safe hours later when it made its way out of the house, which is believed to be a total loss.

Mills County Emergency Manager Larry Hurst said Davis was fortunate to be out of the house when the tree came down.

“They’re very lucky nobody was in this house, especially in the front,” Hurst said.

On Monday, less than 48 hours after Saturday’s incident, another large tree fell into the roadway near the intersection of Fourth and Vine St. No injuries or property damage occurred, Hurst said.

“What I worry about is there’s a lot of moisture in the ground right now and we have a large number of old trees here in Glenwood,” Hurst said.