Home east of Bend struck by lightning — twice in moments
They say lightning never strikes in the same place twice, but one couple who live in the Alfalfa area east of Bend said their house was hit by lightning twice Monday morning.
“It hit twice, almost simultaneously,” said ersident Kathy Nash.
She said the storm started around 7:30 a.m. Monday morning, and at 8 a.m. lightning hit their home twice.
Kathy was inside and her husband Randy was in the yard when the storm hit.
“I was on the way back in through the barnyard when the first lightning hit, and it was right there above my head,” Randy Nash said. “You could actually hear the crackling of the bolt and the thunder at the same time.”.
Kathy said she knew something unusual was about to happen because her dog started acting up.
“It was the shake. The whole house just literally shook — and this is a strong house, built in the 1930s,” she said. “I thought it was an earthquake — then the flash came, and I knew it was lightning.”
She said lightning then struck for a second time, almost simultaneously.
The couple made sure each other were OK, then evaluated the house for damage. They said they smelled burning plastic coming from Kathy’s computer. The lightning had fried her computer, but the Nashes felt fortunate that was their biggest problem.
Central Oregon fire dispatchers said lightning caused 20 small fires or smoke reports in the area. The rain that accompanied the storm prevented the fires from growing, but firefighters said they will be watching for any holdovers.
“We call them sleeper fires,” said Bend Fire Department Operations Chief Bob Madden. “They smolder — and once things dry out, they’ll start showing their heads, and lookouts will see smoke and start calling them in.”
Despite having an unusual Monday, the Nashes are staying positive about their double-lightning encounter.
“If it would have hit the chicken house, I would have had fried eggs,” Randy joked.
The Nashes weren’t the only ones with fried computers. Kathy when she took her computer in to be repaired, there were seven others that had also been damaged by lightning. The computer engineer told her that it’s always best to unplug your computer during a storm.
