Eye on the Tropics

Close to home: Channel 9′s Shannon Butler describes finding massive tree limb on her Orlando home

ORLANDO, Fla. — Hurricane Ian’s effects hit very close to home Wednesday evening for Channel 9′s Shannon Butler.

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Butler was out in the field, reporting on the storm’s effects when she received a phone call from her husband, informing her that the power was out at their home near downtown Orlando.

When she arrived at their home, she discovered a massive branch from a neighbor’s oak tree that had fallen on her porch, crushing the outdoor roof.

Read: Hurricane Ian live updates

Butler said her husband, daughter and dogs were in the home at the time but are safe.

“We just brought a new dog into the house on Tuesday, and so my daughter was actually in this back room right here, and she was just going to let the dog out,” she said. “She wanted to put her jacket on and ran back to get her jacket ... a few seconds later, she would have come out this door to take the dog out the back yard.”

Read: Why is the lightning we’re seeing during Hurricane Ian so unusual?

Butler said “these are the types of things you think about afterwards -- just how close these things can be to being much worse than they are.”

Hear her describe the incident in the video above.

Read: Why did the waters of Tampa Bay recede as Hurricane Ian approached?

Jason Kelly

Jason Kelly, WFTV.com

Jason Kelly joined WFTV Channel 9 in 2014. He serves as the station's Digital Executive Producer.

Adam Poulisse, WFTV.com

Adam Poulisse joined WFTV in November 2019.