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Family Escapes As Trees Come Crashing Down Onto Home In Rain-Soaked Oakland Hills

OAKLAND (KPIX 5) -- A homeowner in the rain-soaked Oakland Hills had to grab his family and run as trees started toppling onto their home – like dominoes – in the middle of the night.

Standing next to it gives you a sense of how big the trees are.

The domino effect stared with the first downed tree and finally came to a stop at a house about 200 feet away.

It happened around 3:30 in the morning.

Neighbors believe heavy rain and gusty winds brought down the first tree which hit the second tree. Then that tree then hit two more trees causing them to land on the back of the house on Woodhaven Way.

The homeowner had just gotten off work and was parked in front of the house.

"You can hear the first tree falling, and the second tree, "said Dheanon Livingston. "And I was like drive away, drive away now."

Livingston invited us into his home, or what's left of it.

One tree landed on the deck in front of his living room. Another took out his bathroom.

Five of his family members were sleeping at the time.

"You can hear the glass shattering in my house and it terrified me. I just wanted to jump out of the car," he said. "I was like okay, stop the car, and let me just go in and get my family."

Fortunately, nobody was hurt.

As for the house, the damage is significant. Part of the roof and some of the walls are gone. Building inspectors will likely red tag the building.

"Very close, but somebody's watching, somebody's watching over us, man," says Livingston.

The family is staying with his grandmother right now. It's going to take them some time to map out a long term plan.

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