By Barbara A. Preston | September 9, 2024
Erik and Sarah Axelsen lived in their new Belle Mead home for just two weeks before disaster struck. A severe thunderstorm on Saturday uprooted a giant oak tree on their front lawn, and it crashed through the roof of their one-story home at about 2:30 pm.
Their 20-month old daughter was napping in her bedroom, just inches away from where the tree trunk landed.
A 100-year-old giant oak tree crashed through the roof of a home on Willow Road in Belle Mead during the severe thunderstorm on Saturday.
Photo by Erik Axelsen.
Erik said, “I was with my daughter, in the bedroom. She was napping. All of a sudden, I started hearing rain and winds around the house. My wife wasn't here at the time. Then I started hearing, like, a shaking noise, and the whole house was visibly shaking. So I look out the window and I'm just like, oh, the wind's really strong or whatever.
“The next thing you know, I hear this huge crash. Oh, my gosh. Just like a boom. A couple seconds later, I heard water, just rushing through the house.
“I go into the hallway, right where the front door is. There's a foyer, and the tree came in through the roof, through the attic, through the ceiling, into the foyer, and you could just see the giant holes in my ceiling and the water rushing through.”
Erik and Sarah Axelsen in front of their patched-up home and what is left of the gigantic oak tree.
Photo by Barbara A. Preston
The Axelsens had just moved in to their new home, and completed renovation work.
"I call 911, and then the fun starts there," Erik said. "I try to just maintain my composure for my daughter while making all the different calls I had to make!"
Meanwhile, Sarah was boarding an airplane, returning home from her best friend's bachelorette party.
After a phone call from her husband, Sarah said she boarded her flight. "I was just worried while sitting on the plane for two hours, just like praying."
Erik adds, "I probably used some explicit language, mind you. We just got a bunch of contractor work done before we moved in. Yeah. Got the floors done, we got some walls taken down, we got the whole thing painted. Next thing you know, we have a tree in our house!"
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Sarah said, "It kind of looked like Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, where you have trees inside homes."
Sarah and Erik each praised the Montgomery firefighters and the police for getting to their home within a couple minutes. They also praised the APM Tree Service for immediately responding to their call, and for staying on the scene 11 hours straight to remove the tree, and patch up huge holes in their roof.
From left, Joseph Lipp and Alex Grant of APM Tree Service out of Port Murray in Warren County.
Photo by Barbara A. Preston
Erik says he googled "emergency tree removal" and APM popped up.
In fact, APM CEO Joe Lipp and his colleague Alex Grant were still at the home at 2 pm the following day, when The Montgomery News arrived
"We brought over our grapple crane and had two of our crews out here," Lipp said. "We also had the bucket truck, the chippers, and all the other equipment and started picking the tree off the house, piece-by-piece. We cleaned up and then tarped up the roof."
Montgomery Township's Public Works Department on storm cleanup duty on Saturday evening, working hard to reopen River Road. The road is now open.
Photo by Barbara A. Preston
Shortly after the thunderstorm cleared, Montgomery's Public Works team was on the scene with front loaders and heavy equipment, removing downed trees to reopen roads.
Director of Public Works Jeff Birkland said, “We’ll keep working to clean up, and ask that residents follow our guidelines for storm debris pickup. The less time our team spends organizing and cutting up brush, the faster we can pick up from all sections of town.”
All Roads Are Now Clear: Good news, all the roads are open again. PSE&G is still working on getting everyone's power back.
Sign Up for Curbside Debris Pickup: If you want your brush picked up from the curb, you must sign up . Click here to sign up online.
Rules for Pickup:
Only homes that register get pickup.
Don't register until your brush is already at the curb.
Branches cannot be longer than 5 feet.
Last day to register is Sept. 19.
Drop-Off Option: You can also drop off brush at the Container Facility at 12 Harlingen Rd. in Belle Mead until Sept. 19.
Drop-Off Hours (Extended!):
Monday - Friday: 8 am - 3 pm
Saturday: 8 AM - 2 PM
No appointment needed for drop-off!
Need Help Cutting Brush? If you're a senior or can't cut your brush to the right size, call the Department of Public Works at 908.533.9338 or email tmistretta@montgomerynj.gov for help.
Big Thanks to Workers: Township Committee and the Emergency Management Coordinator are super grateful to all the DPW, police, first responders, and utility workers for their hard work.
Help Them Help You: DPW Director Jeff Birkland says if you follow the guidelines, they can clean up faster.
Watch Out for Wires: Be careful of any low-hanging wires. If you see a tree touching a line or pole, call the non-emergency police number at 908.359.3222.
During the storm, Montgomery's Office of Emergency Management (OEM) was activated to provide a coordinated, efficient response.
OEM Coordinator Sergeant Adam Verducci said: “We want to thank our dedicated first responders for their efforts addressing the challenges brought by the storm this past Saturday. We also express our deep appreciation to the residents of Montgomery for your patience and cooperation throughout the cleanup and recovery efforts.”
