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Hurricane Frances

When mighty oak falls, family fears going home

By LORRI HELFAND
Published September 9, 2004

CLEARWATER - A granddaddy oak smashed into Erin and Dan Moore's home and sliced their carport in half.

"It sounded like a train hit it," Dan Moore, 29, said Wednesday, two days after the incident.

The massive oak in the back yard of their rented duplex off Fort Harrison Avenue was one of Frances' casualties as the storm departed Monday.

The frame of their front door didn't fare well either. It was bent so badly they couldn't open it. And the oak loomed in front of their back door at a precarious angle.

Monday morning, they had to escape through their bedroom window with Emma, Fetzer and Stella - their pit bull, tabby and Himalayan cat.

Now the Moores are among a few north county families still displaced by the storm.

They've been back only to pick up clothes because they're afraid to stay there. They still can't use the doors, and the roof is battered and punctured. They're worried the home will sustain more damage if the mammoth oak shifts.

"We're in limbo. We don't know what's going to happen. We don't know if the rest of it's going to go down and we're going to lose all of our stuff," Dan Moore said.

Duplex owner Bob Gonzalez said he has been calling contractors to remove the oak and plans to repair damage as soon as possible. "I've got to get Dan and Erin back in there so they can live a normal life," Gonzalez said.

[Last modified September 9, 2004, 01:09:20]


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