<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3SyMjX_1FKg4hdD00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3SyMjX_1FKg4hdD00" width="1600" height="1143" ><figcaption>A recent storm left a magnificent three-clump maple tree in ruins in West Bloomfield.&nbsp; Photo by Liz Carnegie</figcaption></figure>WEST BLOOMFIELD — After the storm of Sept. 3, a West Bloomfield maple tree revered by residents for its beauty was left looking “war-torn.” Jim LaFata was working on his computer in the den when he glanced out the window and saw the destruction unfolding on his lawn. “The sky turned white. … Then it was a gust of wind, about 100 miles per hour,” he said, noting he thought a tornado was coming. “It may have been a microburst.”Jim LaFata has traveled round the world with the military, but he has spent most of his life in Michigan. “I’ve never seen a wind that strong in my life. It destroyed the tree in seconds,” he said. According to the National Weather Service, a microburst is a burst of air that usually travels at high speed in a straight line over a smaller area. They may cover several blocks but leave the rest of the neighborhood unscathed. A microburst can reach speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour. “When the storm came through, it just decimated the tree,” said Joseph LaFata, Jim’s father who also lives on the property. “The tree is still standing with a few branches. It looks like it was a war-torn country.” Joseph LaFata planted the tree 58 years ago, when the family first moved to the township. “My wife wanted a three-clump maple, but there weren’t any available,” Joseph LaFata said. “So, I went out and bought three separate little maple trees and planted them in close proximity to each other. “The tree meant something to my wife, and I wanted to please my wife,” he continued. “She always loved trees. It went along with her artistry.” Judith LaFata, Joseph’s wife and Jim’s mother, was a painter and sculptor who taught art classes in the West Bloomfield School District, as well as at Catholic schools in the area. She died in April 2024. In time, the three little trees grew into each other, and their roots and trunks began to merge. The resulting tree grew to be at least 100 feet in diameter and 100 feet tall. “(Before the storm) we had a number of trees on our lawn, more than anybody in the subdivision. (The three-clump maple) was just a beauty. A great big umbrella — it spread out like you wouldn’t believe. Neighbors really enjoyed the tree,” Joseph LaFata said. “(But) the storm really did it in.” The tree grew out to get more sunlight, rather than up like the other maples on the property. Although it was beautiful, it required a lot of maintenance, the LaFatas said, with tree experts visiting every couple years to remove or secure branches due to their weight. Joseph LaFata will soon be 92. He has mixed feelings about salvaging the tree, but he said he will wait to decide once the tree experts give their recommendation. But that will have to wait until the debris is cleared. At press time, the remains lingered on his lawn and a neighbor’s. </div></body>

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WEST BLOOMFIELD — After the storm of Sept. 3, a West Bloomfield maple tree revered by residents for its beauty was left looking “war-torn.”. Jim LaFata was working on his computer in the den when he glanced out the window and saw the destruction unfolding on his lawn.

Beloved tree left battered by storm

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WEST BLOOMFIELD — After the storm of Sept. 3, a West Bloomfield maple tree revered by residents for its beauty was left looking “war-torn.”. Jim LaFata was

Beloved tree left battered by storm

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