I took some photographs yesterday of the damage here in northern Kirkland.
Bear in mind that this area of Kirkland (specifically, Juanita Bay) is very gently nestled between two large hills. So the damage that you're seeing here is far less pronounced than that of the surrounding areas. We've heard that some areas (for instance, Whidbey Island to the north) received 90+mph winds. I think we got 50+mph gusts here in Kirkland.
Now, those of you in New Mexico probably see "50mph" and think little of it. And to be honest, I didn't really think those numbers were terribly impressive.
The thing is, however, that trees in the northwest typically have very shallow root systems because water is available so often and so close to the surface. Plus, we have a lot of evergreens, which tend to grow much taller than many other classes of trees.
So this ends up making a giant mess. The photograph above, for instance, is a moderately tall evergreen that's fallen across a pond in a neighboring subdivision. The photograph below is of a tree that fell across some power lines just south of here.
And this picture below? Well, that's where I often park the BMW.
I'm glad I didn't park there on Thursday night. I doubt that sort of thing would "buff right out."
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