Lightning Strikes Home Near Council
Council Valley is no stranger to thunder and lightning storms, but on Friday June 26 Council residents Lewis and Jayne Wilmarth found themselves getting a little too friendly with one particular storm.
It was around 7:40 in the evening. Lewis Wilmarth, who lives off Airport Road, said he had received a warning on his phone that there could be severe thunderstorms in the area. Sure enough, when he looked outside it was getting dark and starting to rain. They decided to go out to get the animals in, and just as they were headed out the door, it hit.
“It was like a big missile went off right at your feet… I mean, a sonic boom!” said Lewis, “You could smell it, it was so hot, it just lit up every window in the house.” Lightning had struck the Wilmarths’ house, the very first strike in the area. “It just hit our house first,” said Lewis. “Just about as nasty and mean as you could ever imagine.”
“Everything flashed out and then flashed back on,” said Lewis. The strike surrounded the whole house. Wilmarth said he was frozen when it hit and could not move. “It froze me in my tracks right by the door.” Wilmarth thought if he had made it out the door, he might not have lived to tell the tale. As it was, both Lewis and Jayne suffered no ill effects.
The electrical components of the house, however, did not fare so well. “It roasted a wire out here that goes to the hot tub,” said Lewis, “turned it charcoal black.” The lightning strike fried everything from the satellite dish, to the internet, to the telephone lines. It took out their television, internet, home security systems, dvd players, components to the pressure tank, and sprinkler system. Everything that was connected to the internet and satellite boxes.
The Wilmarths, luckily, had insurance, which should be covering the repairs needed to the home. “We were really thinking about getting rid of that insurance too,” Lewis added, “because it never pays for anything!” The Wilmarths don’t know why the lightning chose their house. The home is located on a little high spot, but they also have neighbors that are just as high. “It was the first strike we heard in this whole area.”
Lewis doesn’t think anything could have protected the house, as hard as the lightning hit. However, he did have some advice.“If you knew that lighting was coming…hey, just turn your power off and unplug your stuff before it hits. But I could not do that because it hit me first, no warning!”
“This storm came in and just… God decided to light us up first!” The Wilmarth’s were curious if anyone had seen the strike, but hadn’t yet found anyone. “It was so violent of a boom and such a bright flash, …it was horrifying, it was scary. I’d hate to get hit by that stuff, I’m telling you, there wouldn’t be nothing left of you!” Lewis said the experience was terrifying, and he hopes never to repeat it. “You just gotta respect it, you gotta respect lightning storms, because they’re not pretty.”
