St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church: surveys the damage done by a 137-year-old oak tree knocked down by the winds of Tropical Storm Fay Saturday, Aug. 23. Throughout the weekend’s severe weather, only minor tree damage was reported around the Auburn area, along with local flash flooding.
The shrill sound of outdoor warning sirens filled the air Saturday night as Auburn suffered through the effects of Tropical Storm Fay.
Rita Smith, public information officer of the Lee County Emergency Management Agency, said six tornado warnings were given, the last one ending at 2:15 a.m. Sunday.
Tornado watches continued until 9 a.m. Sunday. Smith said there was also some low-line flooding.
Leaves and branches littered Auburn’s streets Sunday morning and luckily, were the extent of the damage.
“The great news is that no injuries were reported to us,” Smith said.
Mary Moore, duty officer at Lee County EMA, said damage from the storm was minimal.
“There were mostly just power outages around the county,” Moore said. “Several trees fell down, but most of the trees that fell down were dead trees.”
Moore said the volunteer fire department worked to clear the fallen trees.
The largest tree to fall during the storm was a 137-year-old oak tree which towered over St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church, located at 136 E. Magnolia St.
Father John Wells Warren, Episcopal chaplain to Auburn University, was the only person at the church when the tree fell.
“The tree split in two and fell north and south on the driveway, between the two church buildings,” Warren said. “If the tree fell east, it would have fallen on 17-16, and if it fell west, it would have crushed the chapel and parish hall. It was as close a call as you can imagine.”
Although the tree was hollow, it was capable of causing serious damage.
“The two sections of the tree that fell were 10 feet long and two and a half tons a piece,” Warren said.
The tree caused minor damage to the church’s east entrance, but Warren said the church feels “blessed” the damage was not worse.
As Fay weakened into a tropical depression Monday, the effects could be seen around campus.
An early-morning tornado warning, which lasted until 10:15 a.m., prompted University officials to cancel classes shortly after 11 a.m.
