TWO Wodonga residents narrowly avoided serious injury when a tree fell outside their home during wild weather.
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Heavy wind battered the region on Tuesday night, with wind gusts up to 72km/h recorded in Albury about 8pm.
Kasha Barron had been cooking dinner about 8.20pm when she heard a loud crash outside her Healey Close rental home.
She initially thought someone had been trying to break into a work trailer owned by her partner Dylan Butler, who was also home, but soon realised a 40-metre tree had fallen.
“It’s lucky it fell the other way,” Ms Barron said.
“It was a big bang like thunder, then the cracking of roots. I ran into another room.”
The couple’s lounge room is at the front of the house.
“It would have fallen on that and crushed everything,” Ms Barron said.
The tree avoided several homes and cars, but damaged a front fence shared with her neighbour.
The Wodonga State Emergency Service was called to the street to remove the tree, which covered the road.
The tree also only narrowly missed a power box.
“My two brother-in-laws have already claimed the firewood,” Ms Barron said.
“It’s good that it’s down.
“It’s the worst tree ever, it always dropped branches and clogged up the lawnmower.”
Ms Barron had been scared a nearby tree would also fall and was warned to move by the SES.
Ms Barron’s sister Kira came to her house as soon as she heard about the incident.
Wodonga SES unit controller Dave Huxtable said the region had largely avoided any major incidents during the heavy wind.
“That was the only incident we responded to,” he said.
“We spent about an hour there to saw up the tree and make it safe by clearing the road.”
Mr Huxtable said Wodonga Council would remove the tree.
Albury SES did not respond to any incidents.