CARNATION, Wash. — A man survived a 5-foot-wide, 40-foot-long chunk of redwood tree pinning him for hours during Wednesday night’s wind storm in Carnation.
Mark Bunton told KIRO 7 over the phone that he walked away with just a fractured fibula.
“Grateful. It could have been so much worse. We’re just absolutely grateful and so thankful for the first responders,” said Bunton’s friend, Dan Thompson.
Bunton had been staying on Thompson’s property in a 40-foot-long trailer. Bunton said he heard a crack and the tree “was coming through the front door.” Thompson’s wife, Pamela Kongslie, said the noise woke her out of bed.
“I just started screaming Mark’s name. I ran from one end of the house out here just screaming, and I wasn’t getting a response at first, so that was really scary," Kongslie said.
Kongslie said her neighbor had already been checking on Bunton as his Torso was exposed from underneath the debris and the chunk of tree that was sitting on it.
First Responders with Eastside Fire and Rescue, Redmond Fire, and Mercer Island Fire had to navigate downed trees on their route. The Redwood that fell on Bunton had knocked down power lines as well. For nearly two hours, crews worked to free him using lifts, airbags, wooden blocks, cinder blocks, and chains. Bunton was making jokes with everyone as they did.
“They were all working together like this little beehive of wonderfulness,” Konglsie said, “His attitude made all the difference for everybody here last night, for all the EMT people that were working on him so well. God bless every single one of them.”