Home crushed but 'we really have a lot to be grateful for'

Michelle McCarthy stood in the driveway of her crumpled Santa Rosa home Wednesday as movers packed up furniture and other belongings she had been hoping to use to host a Thanksgiving family gathering.

Instead of cooking her first turkey in her newly purchased home, McCarthy's plans slipped into chaos when the boom of a 175-ton crane crashed through her roof as crews tried to lift a diseased oak from her backyard last week.

So she and her husband, Kevin, and sons Sebastian, 4 and Wyatt, 18 months, were moving essentials to a rental home not far away and heading to Windsor to celebrate the holiday with a sister-in-law. She snatched her son's booster seat before someone loaded it on a waiting truck.

“We're going to need this tomorrow,” said McCarthy, eyeing the key item.

The McCarthy's lives changed Nov. 16 in a freak accident that ruined the Molly Court house they bought three months ago. No one was hurt, not even the family dog. As a crane attempted to lift a 6-ton section of oak over their roof, the weight of the tree upended the crane and brought its steel boom down on the two-story house.

The boom sliced through a bedroom, the living room and the kitchen, forcing the McCarthys out. On Wednesday, a tarp covered the gaping hole in the ceiling and neon signs posted outside warned the property was uninhabitable. Inside was a tangle of splintered roof beams and ripped drywall. Smashed aluminum appliances filled the kitchen where Michelle McCarthy was planning to cook a Thanksgiving bird.

“It was going to be my first time cooking a turkey,” she said as she rummaged through the debris for some childrens' clothes.

While emergency officials tried to figure out how to free the crane — which became stuck overnight with its wheels in the air - neighbors in the close-knit subdivision rallied around the McCarthys. One neighbor took in their chocolate lab, Ghiradelli. Others gave food and money. Everyone gave them hugs, the family said.

Next-door neighbor Kyle Dales, who has lived on Molly Court with his parents for 12 years, said he and others on the block were touched by the McCarthy's plight and wanted to do anything they could.

“We're just there for them,” said Dales, who was chopping wood on his driveway the day the crane fell on the house. “It's what this neighborhood is all about.”

The McCarthy's other immediate neighbor, Josie Lee, said she was helping with meals while the family got settled in their hotel and initially took care of the dog. She also was home at the time of the accident and was the one who called the McCarthys to tell them what happened.

“I saw their faces when they came home,” said Lee, a retired junior college math teacher. “They were aghast. I'm just thankful no one was hurt and it can be fixed.”

The family said it was unsure just when that would happen. Cal-OSHA is investigating the accident and insurance companies are sorting out how to cover it, Kevin Mitchell said.

On Wednesday, another crane operator, Windsor-based Precision Crane Services Inc., came out and removed the tree section, which the crew said weighed 12,100 pounds. That meant setting up the crane and hoisting the huge tree trunk over the top of the house, enough to cause a few neighbors to hold their breath during the operation.

Crane company co-owner Jon Elliff said he used a 200-ton crane with 77,000 pounds of counterweight - something that was lacking in the first attempt.

It worked. The severed trunk was lifted from the backyard over the top of the house and set down on the driveway without incident.

“There's a sense of relief,” said McCarthy, as he stood by with neighbors wearing a hardhat. “I'm just glad nothing else happened.”

Meanwhile, they moved into a temporary rental house after staying at a residence hotel since the accident. Kevin McCarthy said getting into a house brought a sense of normalcy after the hectic week and a half.

But Michelle McCarthy said it's not the same as their own house, which was on a half-acre lot and features a built-in pool.

Then there are the nice neighbors. She said the family definitely would be back.

“We know we moved into the right neighborhood,” she said. “We really have a lot to be grateful for this year.”