(Banner Staff Photo by Don Treul) Ada Phillips, who lives in the 500 block of Sabra Street in Bullard, suffered damage to her home after strong winds uprooted a tree in her front yard. The tree fell onto the roof and into her kitchen. Unfortunately, it was not an alarm clock that sounded the break of a new day for many Bullard residents Friday, Oct. 9.

A strong storm instead roused residents out of bed, only to observe wind damage in their neighborhoods and, in some cases, even to their homes. Power was off in several neighborhoods in the community.

Ada Phillips, who lives in the 500 block of Sabra Street in Bullard, said she heard something just after 6 that morning.

“I heard a noise, but I didn’t know what it was,” she said.

Her neighbor’s son, Neal Smith, ran over to tell Phillips the bad news; that a large oak tree uprooted by strong winds in the yard in front of her home fell onto her roof and into her kitchen.

Ocor crews quickly responded to restore power. (Banner Staff Photos by Don Treul) “I wanted to cry,” she said. “It just happened all of a sudden and then it was gone.”

Phillips said just before the wind knocked down the tree, her dog, Rocky, was acting strangely.

“My little dog jumped out of bed and went running through the house. He sensed something was wrong,” she said. “It was awhile before he came back.”

The Bullard Independent School District suffered an expensive loss when the scoreboard at Panther Stadium was blown over onto the track.

It’s a total BISD Superintendent Keith Bryant.

Bryant said the visitor’s bench on the football field was tossed into a fence, and that there were no scrape marks on the track to indicate the bench was dragged. Leaves from nearby trees also littered the stadium.

The scoreboard at Panther Stadium received extensive damage. Above, Mike Sorrell, an electrician for Bullard Independent School District disconnects power to the scoreboard. Despite the damage, Bullard was able to host a football contest with Gilmer later Friday. Bryant said the district was able to obtain a portable scoreboard during the game, but the damaged scoreboard would unlikely be replaced before the final two home games (Oct. 23 and 30).

According to Bryant, power was off at Bullard Int ermediate School for most of the school day Friday.

“We made the decision to feed our kids and send them home,” he said.

Shannon Torelli lives with her husband and son in the 400 block of W. Tyler Street in Bullard. She and her family also woke up to a tree atop their home.

“I heard the wind – it was blowing. I heard a loud pop. I guess it was the tree,” she said.

A pear tree on Willow Street was uprooted and damaged a fence. A very large and very old pecan tree fell onto a corner of their home and brought down a utility pole and power line in their front yard. There were no injuries, but damage also included trash cans and a basketball goal.

“I’m praying there’s no damage up there,” Torelli said as she looked at the roof of her home.

She said she and her husband replaced the roof after Hurricane Ike damaged it in 2008.

In fact, portable basketball goals were blown down throughout Bullard. Tree limbs and, in some cases, entire trees littered yards and roadways.

Jim and Sandra Young, who live in the 400 block of Willow Street, planted a pear tree in their back yard 12 years ago. Winds uprooted the tree, now more than 30-feet tall, pushing it through a wooden fence and partially into their neighbor’s swimming pool.

Uprooted trees downed power lines cutting power to many residents and to Bullard Intermediate School. “I hit the floor because I thought it was a tornado,” Sandra Young said.

Phillips’ neighbor, Lewis Smith said he thought the storm was fierce.

“It sounded like a train,” he said. Oncor crews quickly responded to the scene to repair damaged power lines and utility poles. Power was restored to most residents by the end of Friday.

Debris was blown throughout the area. Bryant, who lives east of Bullard, said trampoline from a neighbor’s house more than 300 yards away landed in his yard.

No other injuries were reported in Bullard.
A large pecan tree damaged the Torrelli Family home on W. Tyler Street.
A large uprooted oak tree damaged the home of Ada Phillips on Sabra Street.
A stand of trees was uprooted on Sabra Street.