Irene Crashes Tree into House

Tom and Sue Van Voorhis stood stunned in their front yard.

The couple, which has lived in Hopatcong for 21 years, went to sleep Saturday night feeling good about their preparation for Hurricane Irene. They woke up hours later to a tree in their home.

Sue Van Voorhis said they heard the crash in their Rapalyea Road home about 4:30 a.m. Sunday morning.

"We were asleep," she said. "We heard the wind blowing and whatever and all of a sudden there's a huge gust of wind, like bigger than the regular wind. And then you're like, bam! What the heck was that? That's what it was. The rain was just pouring in the back room."

Then the couple scrambled, using containers to collect the rain water. Sue Van Voorhis said she called the 9-1-1 and was impressed with the Hopatcong police department's rapid response.

Tom Van Voorhis said the couple never thought the tree, which stood in their neighbor's yard, would fall. "It was alive and well," he said.

Sue Van Voorhis said Tom and their 17-year-old son, Gheart, would refuse to stay elsewhere Sunday night.

"I'm going to stay here," she said. "I'm not leaving my house. I can't leave my house. This is my home."