Tree falls on News building

By JUSTIN HARMON/Staff

Wilma Norton stepped out of the Washington County News office building on Main Street and saw a flash of green. Then nothing but leaves.
A huge tree branch had just broken off and came crashing down, flattening everything between it and the ground. Fortunately, neither Norton nor anyone else was hurt that afternoon on Aug. 5. But had Norton not answered the call of nature, Mother Nature might have killed her.
The Glade Spring resident was working the Smokey Mountain Barbecue and Catering trailer when she decided to take a quick bathroom break.
“I had just stepped out to use the restroom,” she said. “I saw it coming down when I came back out the front door.”
A large section of the branch, bigger than many trees itself, had pierced the roof of the trailer, just above where Norton would have been standing.
The branch, which broke and fell around 3:30 p.m., hit the barbecue trailer, smashed one of the columns supporting the front porch of the County News building, rolled over a steel barbecue pit and through a tent where Jean and Eric Knapp were selling magnetic jewelry.
“I was just sitting there making jewelry when the tree came in,” Jean Knapp said.
Jean Knapp complained of a sore neck but no other injuries were reported.
Lebanon resident Doug Breeding was passing by at the time and said that the branch very nearly claimed a Cadillac that had been parked in front of the newspaper office. Breeding said the owners of the car seemed like they were in a hurry to get out of there after the branch fell.
“They were lucky,” he said. “It came close to hitting that thing.”
Shortly after the branch came down, emergency vehicles and town officials were on the scene. The Abingdon Fire and Police departments closed the section of Main Street while town workers used chainsaws and a dump truck with a lifting claw to clear the debris.
At one point, the rear wheels of the dump truck left the ground while trying to lift a large section of the branch; a testament to how much damage could have been done.
Eventually, the eastbound lane of Main Street was reopened while town crew continued about its work.
The Knapps, however, were busy digging out their wares and Norton just stayed out of the way, sitting on the curb and trying to call the man that owned the barbecue trailer.
“I’m just glad no one got hurt,” said Breeding as he milled about, watching the crews clear the branch.
Justin Harmon can be reached at 628-7101 or