High winds crash large tree into Salem house, displacing family

SALEM, Utah — Normally, families would celebrate the Fourth of July, but this Utah County family is cleaning up their home after Monday’s thunderstorm.

The storm’s micro-bursts brought winds strong enough to topple Jayden Sperry’s neighbor’s tree into his home, causing damage inside and outside.

“We are the talk of the town for sure,” Sperry joked.

Spectators lined up on the Sperry’s sidewalk to see a tree weighing thousands of pounds resting on the family’s home.

“We’ve had so many people stop by,” he said.

Sperry said that pieces of his neighbor’s tree burst through the air during the storm, with the rest of the tree crashing into his home.

“Right before I went out (the) door, I saw that tree start to come down, and I ran to my front door as fast as I could, and I heard the tree start to fall and ducked my head and hoped for the best,” Sperry recalled.

Since that moment, his family hasn’t spent a lot of time inside as their recently remodeled home is damaged.

“It’s been emotional. We can’t currently stay in our house right now,” Sperry said. “There’s drywall cracking all throughout the house, so it’s definitely not looking too good.”

The damaged interior of the home. (Shelby Lofton, KSL TV)

And the family’s backyard was a jungle of tree limbs, branches, and fences.

“When I walked out the front door and saw all the leaves and stuff, I was like, ‘Wow, that’s intense,’” he said.

Thankfully, no one was injured in the fall. But the 30,000-pound tree will take a lot of time and manpower to remove, Sperry said.

“I’m surprised the whole house didn’t cave in,” he expressed.

He said that removal crews would remove the tree completely in four days. Until then, the Sperry family is staying with family.

The tree that crashed into Jayden Sperry’s home in Salem, Utah. (Shelby Lofton, KSL TV)