METHUEN (CBS) – A woman taking her dog out for a walk was nearly crushed when a giant tree fell.

Cynthia and her Yorkie Bailey got out of the way just in time.

She had taken the dog out just before 8am Friday morning, when a quick string of snapping and popping noises served warning.

The 100-foot tree she’d been standing next to came down in seconds.

It didn’t hit her house, but it did smash her fence, fall across Pinewood Road and pummel three cars parked in a neighbor’s driveway.

The tree also took down power lines and poles, leaving 300 neighbors with no electricity for awhile — and making for an all-day repair and clean-up job.

Methuen tree experts say root rot brought down the 80-year-old oak.

The sound is what sticks with Cynthia most.

“It’s the cracking noise,” says Cynthia. “That’s the worst part.”

She and Bailey are fine but now more than a bit uneasy with three other enormous backyard oaks.