MONTAGUE, Mich. — Powerful storms on Tuesday left hundreds of West Michiganders with trees and debris covering their homes and some even without power.
Montague resident Douglas Len and his family are still processing what's left of the storm damage on their property.
He said the storm sent trees falling on each side of their home, leaving a hole in their roof.
"We weren't hurt, but we were just wowed, Mother Nature is something to deal with,” Len said.
The half-acre property was a dream come true for the Len family who moved in nearly two years ago. They said they were captured by the massive backyard and large outdoor space surrounding the property.
Now, that beautiful area is cluttered with downed trees and branches, including a tree still hanging out of the ground.
"It’s just unbelievable, I've never seen anything like that,” Len said. I've seen weather videos of other places where trees are blown down but to see it happen live in our own yard was just unbelievable."
Making matters worse, the family said the field assessor from their homeowner’s insurance company, AAA, isn't able to come out to assess damages and estimates until next week.
Len said he’s growing frustrated with the matter.
So far, a tree removal company has come out for estimates, but Len hasn't given them the go, fearing he'll be out of thousands that his insurance may not cover.
“If I told the tree company to come out here and do the work today they would, but I don't want to find out later that I have a $10,000 bill on my hand,” Len said. If it was $500 dollars I might say 'Go ahead,' but a $19,000 estimate, that’s a lot of money. I need to know what the insurance is going to handle and not handle."
Still dealing with the painstaking process of sorting out what's next and clearing his property of debris left by the storm, Len said he's taking it one day at a time.
Although things won't return to normal by tomorrow, he said he's still counting his blessings and staying optimistic.
"Our health is number one, we can't replace each of us, so not getting hurt and still being here is number one,” Len said. This stuff will be replaced, so we'll be fine.”
Since Muskegon County declared a state of emergency after the devastating storm, Len hopes to receive some financial assistance to get his property back to normal.
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