LAYTON, Utah -- People living in a Layton mobile home park are cleaning up after Monday’s big snow storm. They’re upset with their landlord who they say could have done more to protect their homes.
While the trees surrounding the Park Village mobile home park provide a winter wonderland, the heavy snow snapped branches and fell onto people’s property.
Mason Rich ran out of his home Monday afternoon and found a tree limb on top of his car parked in the driveway.
“All of a sudden there was a thunderous boom, the whole house shook,” Rich said.
Next door, a tree crashed onto his neighbor’s swamp cooler.
Other neighbors sustained damage inside their homes.
“We have a neighbor down the road that a tree came into their kitchen when a limb broke,” Rich said.
Paul Stroh was shoveling his driveway when he got hurt from a tree limb.
“The branch came down and hit my shoulder, grazed my ear, hit me in the head and knocked me flat on my face,” Stroh said.
Dozens of residents reported similar incidents. Fortunately, no one was hurt. They blame park managers for not taking precautions.
“They could have trimmed the trees back in the fall,” Rich said.
Neighbors say park managers didn’t offer any help.
“We called the park office and they said it`s an act of God. There`s nothing we can do about it,” Rich said.
Duncan Barlow, who manages the park, said he feels sorry for his tenants.
He said they trim trees twice a year and remove ones that may pose problems.
“We just had a company in there. They finished up a week or two ago,” Barlow said.
Barlow never expected a snowstorm to cause severe damage. He said tenants who own their homes and have homeowners insurance may find some relief. Beyond that, he can’t offer more than clearing out the fallen tree limbs.
“Maybe there are some things we can do better. But we’ve actively tried to take care of the tenants in the park,” Barlow said.
The falling limbs is not only damaging property but causing residents to feel unsafe.
“All I want to do is feel safe,” Strohl said.
Park resident Terry Martin said the situation is kind of scary.
“Makes it hard to sleep at night when a big tree is going to come down on you,” Martin said.
The fear for residents is with another storm scheduled to hit next week, they’ll find themselves in even more danger.
Park managers say they’re taking every precaution to make sure people are safe.
