on lawns, cars, and all over.
Shortly after 2:30 PM, on Saturday, April 4, Coalinga resident Raymond Garza who was sitting in the front yard of his home on South Coalinga Street noticed the wind shifting and becoming stronger.
“Pollen was blowing like crazy and everything was blowing pretty hard.” As he watched, a mini-tornado swirled onto the home across the street and ripped much of the home’s roof off, sending the tiles across the street, into neighbors’ yards, and even in trees. Garza hustled his two birds, a cockatoo and an African Gray into his home before going to check on his neighbor.
“I heard it coming. But I thought it was an earthquake,” said Debbie Adams, the resident of the home where the microburst occurred. “I ran to the doorway, like any californian, but I noticed that none of my telltale items were moving, so I knew it wasn’t a quake.” Although Adams’ roof was damaged, she is grateful that her dogs were safe inside the home with her when it took place.
After the wind, there was no indication that anything had happened except for the missing portion of roof on Adams’ home.
