Saturday, July 26, 2014

Sunnyside Park: Storm's Aftermath


Yesterday my friend Cherry wrote me a note, suggesting that I go out to Sunnyside Park see the aftermath of Wednesday night’s violent but quick thunder, lightning and wind storm.

“Serene” almost captures the flavor of that quiet, lovely area above the Sunnyside Road east of Sandpoint.  Some of the most breath-taking views of Lake Pend Oreille are to be found in that area.

Well, the serenity has been interrupted in a major and long-lasting way.

Dozens of beautiful majestic Ponderosa pine rising out of a lush hillside, now lie on their sides, either whole or in pieces after being blown to smithereens by those winds which surpassed 70 mph in a few quick, swirling bursts of brutality.

And, Sunnyside Park where many folks I’ve known forever have lived in their peaceful sanctuaries above the lake will never be the same . . . as observers have noted about other cherished areas around the lake.

The fury of the storm left severe damage, some of which can be calculated by insurance agents and some of which has a value far beyond anything that can be added in dollars and cents.

It’s a sad and stunning scene, and I can say after taking Cherry’s suggestion, the sight truly took my breath away and not in a good way.

My heart goes out to all who live in the Sunnyside area and to all others who are still struggling with both material and intangible losses created by Wednesday’s unusual storm.

The top photo provides a sense of what the Sunnyside area looked like before the storm, and I’m hoping the others in this collection capture at least a portion of the sheer magnitude of its force and destruction. 

Like Cherry said, there's no substitute for seeing the scene firsthand. 















4 comments:

Anonymous said...

My parents lost all of their 100+ year old white pines on Sunnyside Cutoff as well...the home-landmarks left by the original owners, that were easily visible from Schweitzer and had our childhood swings are in pieces on the ground or bent,de-limbed, twisted and awaiting their violent and final settling to the ground...very sad. JBabin

Big Piney Woods Cats said...

This is so sad. Ronnie and I built a house at the top years ago for Mel Hull. I always enjoyed the trip up through the beautiful pines.

Angie said...

So sad. It was so beautiful up there with all those huge old trees. So many memories.

Dalton Hawkins said...

I've lived on Sunnyside for years and some of the pictures took me a while to figure out where I was actually looking. Currently away but it'll be interesting to see how it looks when i get back.