Tree Falls In Beacon: Windy Gusts Take Tree On Main Street Outside Beacon Barkery

Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin

If you follow A Little Beacon Blog’s Instagram, you may have seen the InstaStory we put up that was a picture of this flowering tree taken through the car sunroof. This week in Beacon is usually one of the most beautiful because it is when the white flowering trees on Main Street all open up. We were doing a little countdown of when all of the buds would open.

Photo Credit: A person who emailed this into Mayor Lee Kyriacou, who forwarded it to ALBB.

Thursday (yesterday) was a particularly windy day, especially in the morning, which ended in a hail flurry, catching some outdoor joggers by surprise. The storm system was predicted and reported on by the Daily Voice, saying it came from the Midwest (my Ohio family confirmed it; I knew of the gusty wind earlier). Friday is turning out to be similar, with a few ice snow flurries.

Thursday morning, Jon from Beacon Barkery (pet food store) wrote in with some weather-related activity outside his shop: “Good morning Katie. It's been pretty exciting on Main Street so far. The giant flowering tree in front of my store snapped and broke my flag pole.”

Good grief! Jon was OK, as he was inside the shop when he heard the tree fall. “It all started when I was in the back cleaning. I heard a loud noise and Angel (my pug) barked. I figured it was a customer knocking on the door to get my attention. When I went to the front of the store, I looked out and said: ‘Holy Cow!’ The branch had fallen and crushed the flag and broke the end half of my flag pole.”

Jon reports that the City of Beacon maintenance crew was on it in what felt like 5 seconds. They came with chainsaws to cut the tree and remove it. White flower petals were blowing around, and Jon stayed inside so that the debris would not blow into his shop.

The Beacon maintenance crew returned a few hours later to cut and remove the entire tree.

A Little Beacon Blog wrote into the mayor’s office to see what details they knew of the incident, and received this response from Mayor Kyriacou:

“Thursday morning a brief, but strong wind storm passed through the City and broke a tree on Main Street. The Highway Department head happened to pass by and immediately called in City crew to cut and clean up the debris. Even in these unusual times, the essential City of Beacon operations continue. I applaud the of the Highway Department for their help, as well as all the efforts of the City employees.”