Texas County resident Julius Fraley and Houston business owner Vicki Narancich stand with a panel of roof insulation that took an unlikely trip during the storm that brought high winds to some portions of the area on Monday, May 4.
Fraley found the panel on his property east of Houston, which is close to five miles from Narancich’s Little House Gifts and More store on U.S. 63 in the southern part of town. Fraley had recently installed solar panels on structures at his property, and at first believed the storm had blown one off.
“I was pretty scared that that’s what I was looking at,” he said.
But after first observing it from a distance, when Fraley approached the panel (that was lying flat in a grassy area), he realized it was a piece of Styrofoam roof insulation. Then an image of Narancich’s wind-damaged store that appeared on the Houston Herald website came to mind that depicted a missing panel near the crown of the building’s roof.
Fraley had a hunch he had that panel.
“I was pretty sure that was it,” he said.
Fraley brought the panel to the store, and it became apparent his hunch was accurate.
“It was a perfect match,” Fraley said.
Considering its lengthy flight, the panel was in surprisingly good condition.
“There wasn’t a nick on it,” said Fraley’s wife, Janet.