Couple escape injury when tree branch falls on home

Watching The Weather Channel in her Batavia home early Thursday morning, Betty Essling saw that winds of more than 40 mph were approaching the area.

"I thought, 'Oh, that's a good one,' " she said.

That was moments before the branch of a large tree in her backyard snapped off and fell onto the roof.

Betty and her husband, Joe, were unharmed, but contractors expected to take at least six hours on Thursday to remove the tree.

A heavy storm caused minor damage elsewhere across the Tri-Cities area on Thursday morning, mostly downed branches.

But it seemed none were as big as the branch -- 2 feet in diameter -- that fell on the Esslings' house at about 2:30 a.m. Thursday.

"It shook the house real good and knocked a bunch of plaster down," Joe Essling said.

When it comes to reacting to such a situation, though, the Esslings are experts.

Joe works for the Batavia Emergency Services and Disaster Agency, and Betty works for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. She recently returned from a 3-month stint in Oklahoma to help people apply for flood aid.

Joe joked that the companies Betty called early Thursday were probably surprised by the detail and amount of questions from a homeowner that had just experienced what they had.

For now, the couple is staying with family members nearby. They are not sure how much damage was done to the house or when they can move back in yet.