A pinned neighbor and a house made unstable

A woman named Joan was trapped for hours inside her Parchment home after a massive tree crashed through it during severe storms on July 3. The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety responded to a partial building collapse on East Glenguile Avenue near North Church Street shortly before 5 p.m. Friday.

Kalamazoo Fire Marshal Lt. Scott Brooks said the tree was roughly 48 inches in diameter. It fell onto the front porch and into the house, making the entire structure unstable.

"The tree has fallen into the house and on to the front porch, which is trapping the victim. She's pinned between the trusses, refrigerator and the floor," Brooks told News 8.

Brooks said crews could see the woman and communicate with her. They could reach toward her. But they could not get to her body.

"Not only is the tree unstable, but now the house is unstable as well. We don't know the construction of the house. We don't know what the house was before the incident so our biggest thing right now is we are building the structure to hold everything so we can get her out safely," Brooks said.

A slow rescue

Technical rescue experts worked to stabilize both the tree and the home. That work continued past 11 p.m. Friday. The woman was finally freed late that night.

Brooks said she had serious injuries. She was transported to a hospital in stable condition, according to News Channel 3.

Family speaks out

Joan's family released a statement to News 8 on Saturday. They thanked the community for its support.

"We are grateful to share that our mother is recovering and receiving the care she needs. We would also like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the first responders and medical teams whose professionalism, compassion, and dedication made all the difference. We are incredibly grateful for their efforts."

The family asked for privacy as Joan continues to recover.

A century-old tree and a GoFundMe

A neighbor told News 8 that the tree that fell was more than 100 years old. The neighbor said Joan was a very nice person and expressed devastation over the injuries.

Joan's family and friends created a GoFundMe to cover expenses related to the loss of her home, her car, and her income while she recovers.

Storms hit West Michigan hard

The tree fell during a round of severe thunderstorms that swept through West Michigan on July 3. Wind gusts reached up to 80 mph in the area, according to Build Like New. Portage recorded a gust of 79 mph. More than 130,000 Michigan residents lost power in the same storm system.

Kalamazoo County took some of the hardest hits across the state that evening.