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'We're still grateful': Issaquah storm victims forced to spend holidays away from home

An Issaquah family is without a home after a tree came crashing through the roof during the bomb cyclone.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — It's been over a week since a bomb cyclone ripped across western Washington destroying homes, bringing down trees and severing power lines.

For some, like the Wright family, they're now without a home. A tree came crashing through their roof, making their Issaquah home unsafe to live in.

“Oh my heart dropped, it was heartbreaking," Rachel Wright said. “Seeing your living room crumble to pieces, it’s devastating.”

 Just a couple of hours before the tree came through the roof, Rachel made the choice to get her and the family dog, Bandit, out. 

“Where I would have been sitting got crushed by large pieces of dry wall, my dog’s bed got crushed too," she said. "This window got shattered, the tree came from this way, big pieces of dry wall fell here, you know fan and everything fell down, a bunch of insulation, yeah it was a mess in here."

Rachel and her husband, Michael, were married on their back deck last month. One thing that survived, their wedding arch. 

"It's kind of funny I asked my husband if we should move that, is that going to come through a window and no a tree did," she said. 

This is the last thing the newlyweds expected to be dealing with especially so close to the holidays. 

"I was looking forward to baking in here and you know bringing treats to Thanksgiving and we're not going to be able to put a Christmas tree up this year, you know all of that stuff is tough," she said. “Holidays you know are a time that you want to be joyful and happy and spend time with your family and not worry about things like this.” 

She said it will likely be months before they can repair the roof and return home. 

"This is my favorite time of the year and so it's tough not being able to spend it the way that we want to you know decorating this place, having our Christmas tree, being cozy, but we're still grateful," she said. 

Rachel said loved ones and neighbors have stepped up to help them and they're currently staying with family while they figure out temporary housing.

“Our neighbors are kind of the ones that kept us going through this the first few days, they cooked us meals, they let us come into their house, they had a generator and a fire going," she said. 

Despite the damage and devastation, Rachel said they're holding onto hope and focusing on the positives.

“This sucks but we do still feel really grateful for what we have," she said. "Hug your family members, at the end of the day that’s what matters.”

The family has set up a GoFundMe to help them rebuild. If you'd like to donate, click here: gofundme.com.

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