As the sky darkened and the wind began to howl on Saturday, Ann Baker was sprinkling holy water in her backyard and placing her faith in a small statue of the Virgin Mary.
There was a time when the branches were baptizing and the windows were so closed from the rain that she couldn’t see outside, she looked at her husband and thought, “Here we go again.”
Four years ago, a tornado tore open the hydraulic corridor behind his home in the Aurora Crescent and, as if drawn by a magnet, sucked a 12-foot-tall maple in its front yard, turning it lo in “matchsticks” in a matter of seconds.
We are in the wrong place at the wrong time.- Ann Baker
What was left of the tree crashed into the house where Baker lived with his family for the past 35 years.
“It took out the roof, the chimney, the back deck and blew up the oven, and then it cracked the foundations, and then we had a flood,” he said Wednesday.
The family faced tens of thousands of dollars in repairs not covered by insurance.
Since then, a large flower garden has taken the place of the tree, but amid the constant hum of generators and bundles of shattered branches piled up across the street this week, memories remain for residents who took until 2018.
The Manordale-Woodvale area was hit again last weekend when a devastating and deadly windstorm hit Ottawa, leaving tens of thousands of people in the city without electricity.
“I don’t think I’m cursed or we’re cursed,” Baker said. “We are in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Despite being the target of tornadoes and wild winds, those living along the Aurora Crescent say they have no plans to leave, and attribute to their neighbors that they have given them the strength to resist anything that comes their way.
Ann Baker’s home in Aurora Crescent was hit by branches during a storm that hit Ottawa on May 21. It was also badly damaged during the 2018 tornado. (Dan Taekema / CBC)
“Your neighbors are good neighbors”
Follow an extension cable that winds through Baker’s garage and you’ll find a generator running in Denise Haney’s parking lot next door.
Do you know when they say lightning doesn’t fall twice? Well, yes.- Denise Haney
He has been there for 32 years, a term that includes the 1998 ice storm. When the tornado happened four years ago, he took some of his lawn furniture with him. He left something behind: the top four and a half feet of a tree pierced its roof.
This week’s storm has seen more damage to trees and more damaged lawn furniture, according to Haney.
“You know when they say lightning doesn’t fall twice?” she asked. “Well, yes. Now we know.”
After the storm, the street cheered with neighbors leaving their homes to check on others and lend a hand, sharing chainsaws and generators, residents said.
Denise Haney shows photos of the big tree that fell on her house in the Manordale-Woodvale area during the 2018 tornado. (Dan Taekema / CBC)
Haney said she has no plans to leave, despite being hit twice.
“[Storms] “It’s scary but … neighborhoods make a big difference,” he said. “If you’re with … people who help you, that’s what’s really important right now.”
Bob Scott lives a few doors down and remembers the tornado shaking the power lines and then roaring with a sound like a transport truck.
In 2018 it was largely saved, but the pile of tree branches it has accumulated now proves that this storm was a different story.
A neighbor’s tree split in half and crashed into his yard, and he lost a fir tree in the backyard, but Scott considers himself lucky when it comes to cleaning.
“It was like a community effort … and everyone was trying to help everyone,” he said.
“It gives you a good sense of security and your neighbors are good neighbors.”
Bob Scott describes the 2018 tornado moving along the hydroelectric corridor behind his home in Aurora Crescent. (Dan Taekema / CBC)
“Our little insurance policy”
A huge maple tree is still in Baker’s backyard. A couple of branches fell on Saturday, crashing into the roof and deck that had come after the tornado.
There’s a big bang on the railing, but that’s the only real mark that leaves the right.
Despite all that has happened to the family, Baker has a secret weapon sitting under the tree that he trusts to keep them safe.
This statue of the Virgin Mary stands under a large maple in the backyard of Ann Baker. She attributes to him having helped the tree to stand firm despite two major storms in the last four years. (Dan Taekema / CBC)
It is a statue of the Virgin Mary, and she adds that they are “blessed” because even when other trees have been destroyed, the maple has remained firm.
“I couldn’t come up with a rhyme or a reason why, except that the Virgin Mary protected him,” he said.
“This is our own great little insurance policy.”