ST. GEORGE — Kristen Stocks was asleep in her home early Monday morning when she heard what she said sounded like a bomb exploding.
A lightning bolt had struck the roof of her home, leaving a gaping hole in the ceiling in the house in the Little Valley area of St. George. The strike came at about 2:15 a.m. during a thunderstorm heard across much of southwestern Utah.
“I ran upstairs and immediately knew it was lightning,” Stocks told St. George News. “Rain was coming through the hole and everything.”
Stocks said her children, who were sleeping upstairs, were the first to see the hole in the ceiling left by the lightning. The hole was at the top of the stairs in the two-story home.
“All of my neighbors heard it – it sounded just like a bomb,” she said.
Luckily, the lightning did not start any fires and did not hit any pipes or electrical wires, but one of the roof support beams was likely broken from the blast, Stocks said.
The St. George Fire Department responded to the home to make sure there were no hidden fires started by the lightning, and a tarp was placed over the hole on the roof to prevent any more rain from coming through.
Stocks said she hasn’t been able to have someone assess the damage to determine how much it will cost to repair it; she’s just happy her house didn’t have more damage and isn’t burned down.
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Not surprised by this. Last night’s storm was insane. Huge lightning bolts.
It was like trying to fall asleep to the sound of cannon fire and shook the house like an earthquake.
Had one close by as well, glad this sort of thing is rare! Hope the repairs are on the cheap side!
Athats why some houses have ligthen8ng rods on their roofs in little valley