RATHDRUM - It wasn't the down time Robert Conolly envisioned after work on Wednesday.

Conolly had just gotten settled watching TV downstairs at his home on Chase Road north of Highway 53 between Rathdrum and Hauser when all hell broke loose.

"I heard violent wind, hail, thunder ... and loud pops and snaps," he said.

When he went upstairs to look outside, there was massive destruction.

Conolly estimated 30 to 40 shallow-rooted pine trees - some as large as 80 feet tall - toppled, snapped in half or were leaning over.

A family trailer and the barn were destroyed by fallen timber. A tree that fell on the house penetrated the roof and damaged the deck. Part of the shop's roof ripped off. Another tree that tumbled damaged the driveway and a truck was damaged.

"They just snapped like pencils - all in 30 seconds," Conolly said. "It felt like a tornado."

He said he knew his home's roof was damaged because moisture was getting through.

Conolly said he is thankful his two kids were at school and his wife at work during the storm.

"Someone could've easily gotten seriously hurt or killed," Conolly said as he assessed the damage and watched a crew of friends begin what is expected to be long cleanup effort.

Conolly said he has lived at the home for 10 years and never had a tree fall over. He passed at taking a stab at the estimated amount of damage.

Climatologist Cliff Harris said winds reached 43 mph at 2:06 p.m. during the short, but vicious storm.

Conolly's son Marshall, a sixth-grader at Betty Kiefer Elementary in Rathdrum, was left with a lot of wondering after he arrived home from school.

"Dad, you were probably mad at the storm," he said to his father. "I'm very glad I wasn't here. At school we were saying that this is the first day of spring and then the storm came."

Damage to the rest of Kootenai County was spotty. Neighbors of Conolly's and others in the Rathdrum-Hauser area also had downed trees but not the extent of damage. Utility crews were busy repairing damaged power lines.

Debbie Simock, Avista spokeswoman, said an outage off Highway 53 left 230 customers without power. Erika Neff of Kootenai Electric Cooperative said 12 customers were affected by an outage in the Hauser area.

Minor flooding occurred on Coeur d'Alene streets prompting sweepers and a suction truck to respond and a portable carport blew onto Dalton Avenue, said Tim Martin, Coeur d'Alene street director.