Massive tree crashes into bedroom while couple slept in Montecito home

Longtime Montecito residents Oscar and Linda Sepulveda had a close call during the recent storm when powerful winds and rains uprooted a massive tree that crashed from a neighbor’s yard into their bedroom.

The pine tree came down late Thursday night while the couple was asleep.

Montecito had received two and a half inches of rain coupled with 50 mph wind gusts throughout the day and into the evening.

“The whole thing started with the rain coming down,” said Oscar Sepulveda. “There was thunder and lightning. It was incredible.”

A loud crash overhead startled the couple from their sleep.

“All of the sudden, some tree branches were sticking through the ceiling hanging over our bed,” Sepulveda said.

The tree, about 70 feet tall, slammed into their home on Sycamore Canyon Drive. Three large branches punctured their roof. The branches dangling eerily from their ceiling.

One branch was just inches from the head of their bed.

“We’ve been very, very lucky,” Sepulveda said.

The couple has lived through two fires and the devastating mudslide last January.

Sepulveda said he and his wife are grateful they weren’t injured by the tree.