Grant Park neighbors work together to save lives during Irma
ATLANTA - Neighbors and family members worked together during Irma Monday to save lives after three trees fell on five homes in Grant Park
The first tree crashed to the ground as Irma roared through the area Monday afternoon. It landed on two homes in the 700 block of Grant Street, taking out a power pole in the process. The folks living in one of the homes noticed the tree next door was also about to fall, so they called their neighbors to warn them.
A woman in the home next door sought shelter one house over in Anne Stanford's home. Not long after the tree came down, followed by the one in front of Stanford's home.
Anne Stanford and her daughter were on their porch. Her husband, Jonathan, saw that the trees were about to fall and yelled for everyone to get inside. He then jumped into the street just in the nick of time.
The Stanfords' porch was destroyed, their roof has holes in it and there's water inside all the way down to the ground level. The house on one side suffered roof damage, the one of the other is a complete loss. The two homes hit by the first tree will also need a lot of repairs, but everyone is counting their blessings that no one was hurt.
A little over a mile and a half away, in the 800 block of Custard Avenue, a windy afternoon turned into a terrifying nightmare.
"First it was the gust of wind. It was so loud and then the crack. So we just backed up into the corner. The only place we could be," Sarah Lucisano described the moments a tree cut through their home.
"Yeah, we were pretty much on top of each other. She jumped up on the couch and I was right here," Jarred Clark recalled. "And then we kind of looked up and all the wires get ripped out. Smells like smoke and all the insulation is everywhere. So, you look around. 'Are you okay, are you okay?'"
"I did not scream. But it was terrifying. It was more shock. So, adrenaline rushing and we were looking at each other like we're alive. That's incredible," said Lucisano.
The tree shaved off three rooms, a guest bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen, from their tiny home. The couple was able to escape out a back door. Their insurance company has put them up in a hotel.