Believed to be a record breaker in terms of property damage, the windstorm that blasted South Whidbey last week may help the state qualify for federal aid.

Island County Emergency Management Director Eric Brooks confirmed Monday that Whidbey is among a host of Western Washington communities that are assessing the destruction to see if the total price tag reaches $9.5 million, the monetary benchmark that will allow the state to apply for Federal Emergency Management Agency funding.

It’s unclear whether the combined devastation will reach the threshold, but local and state officials are working this week to figure that out, Brooks said. On the South End, one of the hardest hit areas, Brooks will be visiting with first responders, such as fire district leaders, with several objectives.

“One is an assessment of damages and figuring out a financial figure,” Brooks said.

To qualify for any funding the state might receive, damages in Island County would need to hit $280,000, a figure based by a per-capita calculation, he added.

“Even not counting South Whidbey, which was considerable, we should have enough to make a declaration,” Brooks said.

According to South Whidbey Fire/EMS Chief Rusty Palmer, the destruction is largely the result of hundreds of fallen trees. They toppled into houses, smashed cars and downed enough power lines to leave residents across Whidbey in darkness.

“It was a record storm, no question about it,” Palmer said.

In all about a dozen homes were damaged by fallen trees. Four saw significant damages, said Palmer, and possibly more that had not yet been reported.

One of the worst hit was that of Clinton residents Craig and Lauren Brooks. Their home was nearly bisected by a tree he estimated to be 180 feet in length.

“It cut my house in two,” Brooks said.

The tree went through a guest bedroom wall, landing on the bed right between the pillows. No one was in the room at the time, but Lauren Brooks said they were close by.

“We were sleeping only 6 feet away,” she wrote, in an email to The Record. “Glad to be alive.”

A crane crew was expected to arrive to remove the behemoth Tuesday after press time.

“We’re gonna have the longest skylight on Whidbey Island,” Craig Brooks said.

Given the widespread destruction, Palmer said it was fortunate no one was seriously injured or killed during the windstorm. That includes district first responders.

“There are a lot of lessons we’ve learned from hurricane country, such as Florida,” he said.

For instance, while firefighters did respond to many calls while the wind was still blowing the idea was to be prudent while until the storm blew itself out. There have been “close calls” in the past where district volunteers were responding to trees down and found themselves in dangerous situations.

Overall, he said he was very pleased with the district, its volunteers and captains.

“The storm was huge, but we did everything right,” Palmer said.

“Our folks did a great job,” he added.

Like the Brookses, the clean up effort is continuing across South Whidbey. Putney Woods was hit hard, with only one of its main trails passable following the storm, according to Chris Whitney, a member of The Back Country Horsemen. The group helps maintain the massive trail system and was organizing a clean up for 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 17, at the trailhead on Lone Lake Road.

Those interested in volunteering should email Randy Dierfert at longearsb@frontier.com or call 360-929-3408. Volunteers should bring gloves, water, appropriate clothing for the weather, work shoes and a sack lunch.