LEESBURG, Fla. — Some Leesburg residents are staying with family or in a hotel after strong storms sent them scrambling to escape falling trees. Two apartment complexes on Dixie Avenue were damaged as storms moved through Leesburg on Friday, according to the Leesburg Fire Department.
Videos: Resident describes roof collapse
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[ Tree with bee hive falls on home ]
Slideshows: Leesburg storm damage
Slideshow: User submitted weather photos
With portions of the roof ripped off of their 70-year-old building, the few remaining and now evacuated residents of Venetian Isles Apartments said they grabbed what they could. "We can't occupy this place, it's unsafe," resident John Bly said. Bly said he and his wife were home when the storm rolled through around 3:30 p.m. "All of sudden it was whited out. I couldn't see outside. All I could see was branches and wind," Bly said. After seeing the damage in nearby units he said he is relieved no one was hurt. "The lights went out for a minute and they came back on. Next thing I know, I get a knock on my door and there's fire department," Bly said. Just across the street from Bly, firefighters were working on removing a tree from another apartment building. Their task was complicated because the tree contained a large bee hive. "They couldn't do any cutting until they contained the bees," resident Emily Walker said. Sidney Brock was called to help remove the bees and he estimated there were 20,000 to 30,000 bees were in the trunk of the tree. "You never know who might be allergic to bees so you need to be careful. These weren't aggressive at all," Brock said. Walker said her first floor unit couldn't escape water seeping in from the top floor where the tree did its damage. "If my upstairs neighbor was home, the tree landed right where he parks his car, so nobody was harmed," Walker said. Residents of the Venetian Isles Apartments have been moving out because the complex is slated to be demolished. Only five of the units are occupied.