Powhatan, Virginia – Two Virginia men were enjoying a spring night and preparing to make s’mores with their families when they narrowly escaped being crushed by a giant tree.
Security video captured Chris Johansen and a friend sitting by an outdoor fireplace on April 12 when a 40-foot tree fell on this Powhatan home.
As soon as they heard the crackling sound, they both jumped up and ran to the right, avoiding the fatal blow. The tree fell onto the two chairs they had been sitting on.
“We almost died!” one of the men can be heard saying.
The video shows pieces of wood floating in the air after the fall.
After a while, children are heard coming out from outside, startled by the sound of a falling tree.
“Dad, what was that?” one child said, followed by an exclamation, “Oh my God!”
Johansen told Storyful that her family was enjoying the fireplace about five minutes before the tree fell.
“Fortunately, [our] The wives went to our ex’s house and we took the kids to see a movie. We had a fireplace set up to make s’mores for the kids. We were drinking bourbon and it was crackling,” Johansen said.
Neither man was injured in the incident.
The weather at the time of the collapse was calm.
However, nearby weather stations showed rain and winds of up to 25 mph earlier in the day, according to the FOX Prediction Center.
Wind gusts of 46 mph were recorded on April 12 near Richmond, about 40 minutes away, according to the National Weather Service in Wakefield.
