It wasn’t the homecoming Ross Lovett had been hoping for.
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After battling fires along Queens Pinch Road near Mudgee on Monday afternoon, the local volunteer firefighter received a call from his wife Annie that their house had been hit by high winds and the entire roof was now lying in pieces in the paddock.
“I got home and the roof was just gone. The wind blew it right off in nearly one piece,” he said.
Lovett’s Lodge, a bed and breakfast, was among properties damaged after storms raced through the region on Monday.
Annie Lovett, who was home at the time, said she could hear and see the storm coming towards her “like a wall of water and sound” as she secured furniture to the deck and rushed quickly to get inside.
“I’ve never seen anything like it.”
- Annie Lovett
“It was so scary being inside. I could see the wind getting stronger and all of a sudden everything just started blowing past. We lost the roof, lost the solar, lost the verandah awning – and all in a matter of maybe three minutes,” she said.
Damage to the bed and breakfast included the missing roof and verandah awning, a substantial quantity of water damage, broken glass balustrades, a missing glass wall, broken tree limbs, and other storm related mess including no power and broken planters.
“I’m just glad it didn’t take the rest of the house with it,” Mrs Lovett said.
SES crews were called to the site after the storm had abated, helping the Lovetts to clear debris from what remained of the verandah and making sure Mrs Lovett and her neighbours were safe.
“It’s unbelievable really,” Mrs Lovett said. “With the amount of rain and wind there was, I’m surprised there wasn’t more damage but it was like a corridor of wind really.
“I’ve never seen anything like it.”