Water cooler stops falling tree just inches away from crushing man and his dog

PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AZFamily/Gray News) - A water cooler miraculously saved a man and his dog from a falling tree in Arizona, authorities say.Deputies with the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office responded Sunday afternoon to reports that a massive tree fell onto a van parked in a camping spot just outside of Prescott.“When deputies arrived, they braced for the worst. Instead, they found a man and his dog, miraculously unharmed, though the van itself was a total loss,” officials said in a statement.Deputies looked inside the van to see what could’ve stopped the tree from crushing the man and dog and found an ordinary Igloo water cooler.“As the tree smashed into the vehicle, the sturdy cooler took the brunt of the impact, stopping the trunk just inches from crushing the man in the driver’s seat,” officials said.High winds and saturated soil can make falling trees an unpredictable and deadly hazard, officials said. Avoid parking under large, dead or leaning trees, especially during high winds.