On Halloween, revelers seek scares from monster movies and haunted houses. But Sitkan Sam Skaggs faced a more realistic terror in the early hours of October 31st.
“It’s not every day you have a 45 ton tree break off in the middle of night and destroy your home,” said Skaggs. “I don’t think Halloween will ever be the same for me.”
Around 2am, amid high wind speeds, Skaggs woke to a loud “crack” sound outside his bedroom. Within seconds, his survival instincts kicked in.
“I just fell to the ground next to my bed. And then in the next instance, the whole tree and my roof and sheetrock and metal and everything were in my bed, and I could reach up two feet and touch a huge tree,” said Skaggs. “It was dark, it was stormy, it was wet, I was cold, I was naked… and so I was a pretty vulnerable creature at that moment.”
Skaggs carefully navigated broken glass and tree branches in the dark, eventually ending up on his porch. Fortunately for Skaggs, help and headlamps were already on the way.
“Neighbors started coming like bobbing lights of hope, redemption. I don’t know whatever you want to call it just was an incredible sight,” said Skaggs. “But I was freezing. Freezing! ‘Billy! Get me some expletive deleted pants!’… finally, somebody handed me some pants and a coat and some slippers.”
While he sustained some minor injuries and lost some energy, for Skaggs, the biggest loss was the complete destruction of his home, which he designed himself and has lived in for nearly a decade. Amidst his grieving, friends and neighbors have shown up for Skaggs and his partner, who was not home when the tree fell. Skaggs says friends have provided temporary housing, home-cooked meals, and even helped recover his possessions. He says he’s incredibly grateful to everyone who has helped them the past few weeks.
“I think we’re kind of programmed not to ask for help. But when it comes and you really need it, it’s, it’s like oxygen. It is oxygen,” said Skaggs. “The value of this town is immeasurable… the human scale here that is equal to the natural world.”
For now, Skaggs plans to design himself a new house on the same land. In the meantime, he feels fortunate to take his healing one day at a time, knowing that he’s surrounded by countless support that makes Sitka feel like home.
