Tree Falls on Naugatuck Home

A couple in their late 20s who just moved to Naugatuck from Texas two weeks ago received an unkind housewarming present from Mother Nature Sunday night when a large pine tree fell on the roof of the house they rent on Naugatuck's east side.

The incident happened at 25 Rayron Circle around 9:30 Sunday night (July 15) during a thunderstorm when Chris and Kallie Ybarra were laying down and getting ready to call it a night. That’s when they saw a bright flash of light that seemed to “light up the bedroom” coupled with a deafening boom, Chris Ybarra said Monday.

“We felt the whole house shake and probably about 10 seconds later we felt the shake again, but we didn’t see the lights or hear anything that time,” he said. “Our first thought was, ‘something hit the house.’ So I ran upstairs and all I could see was branches poking through the roof."

He tried to walk onto the back deck of the one-and-a-quarter-story Cape Cod-style home but saw nothing but pine needles and branches in front and above him.  He said no water was pouring into the home, but there were branches about nine inches thick that came through the roof about four or five feet.

“It all happened in a matter of seconds,” Chris Ybarra said Monday while he gazed in disbelief at his home, which the couple rents, as workers from a local tree service removed the pine piece by piece.

He said the situation is unfortunate but he’s counting his blessings: “Nobody was hurt. That’s the good thing.”

Just he and his wife live in the home with their two black Labrador Retrievers. Neither dog was injured.  

The Naugatuck Fire Department, which has an east side fire station directly across the street from Rayron Circle, was on scene immediately, Ybarra said. Firefighters said they didn’t immediately see burn marks on the tree, so they were not sure exactly how or why the tree fell because it was unclear if it was hit by lightning, Ybarra said.

On Monday, the Ybarras and their two dogs went to a hotel for the night.

The Naugatuck Building Inspector’s Department was examining the house on Monday afternoon to see if there is any structural damage or whether it is safe for the family to return to the home.

Editor's Note: Chris and Kallie Ybarra rent the house at 25 Rayron Circle. It is owned by Robert J. Delano, according to Naugatuck property records.