First responders and neighbors gather along Little Avenue in Gridley on March 6 after a large oak tree fell onto a home while residents were inside. Crews from CAL FIRE Butte County Station 74, Gridley Police Department and technical rescue teams responded. No injuries were reported. Photo by Seti Long

GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - Emergency crews responded to Little Avenue the morning of March 6 after a large oak tree toppled onto a home while residents slept inside.

“I thought something had exploded,” said neighbor Alyssa Garcia.

Garcia said she was getting her children ready for school when she heard the massive oak tree come down on the neighboring home.

“It was incredibly loud,” Garcia said.

First responders arrived quickly. CAL FIRE Butte County Station 74 crews responded along with the Gridley Police and Butte County Technical Rescue units. Crews worked to ensure the safety of the residents and remove family members and pets from the damaged home.

A small dog trapped inside the house was safely retrieved and returned to its owners by firefighters.

No injuries were reported, though the home sustained significant damage.

Neighbors said the oak tree had stood on the property long before the surrounding housing development was built. The land previously operated as a prune orchard until the late 1980s.

“That tree has been here longer than any of these houses,” a neighbor said.

Some neighbors estimated the tree could have been nearly 300 years old.

Cleanup efforts began over the weekend as crews worked to remove the fallen tree and debris from the property.