Castle Pines resident gets a serious jolt!
Damage to the wood shingle roof from a lightning strike.
South Metro Fire Rescue units responded to the 911 call.
By Amy Shanahan with photos provided by South Metro Fire Rescue
Shana Nelson, a resident of Castle Pines will never forget her experience on August 3rd. Nelson had gone out for a run shortly after work that day, and she noticed storm clouds rolling in. As she ran back toward home, she saw lightning beginning to light up the sky. “It felt like a lifetime to run that last mile to my house, knowing that we were about to get hit with a huge storm,” said Nelson.
Upon returning home, Nelson decided to take advantage of the quiet house, and she called her mom. That’s when she heard a huge explosion as a lightning bolt hit her home, and she found herself face down on the carpet. The smoke alarms all triggered and were sounding, the television suddenly went out, the phone went dead, and she found herself scared and unsure as to what to do next. She crawled down the stairs and opened the front door and saw another bolt of lightning hit nearby.
Nelson’s neighbor became concerned when she heard the explosion and she made her way over to Nelson’s house to check on the family. The two women made their way back to the neighbor’s house, and were able to see that shingles from Nelson’s house were scattered around the roof and driveway, and there was a large hole in the roof, which was now on fire.
They immediately called 911 and the fire department responded within minutes. “In spite of the lightning storm, the Firemen took control of the situation and put the fire out without hesitation,” said Nelson. “Our family will forever be grateful for our house being saved!”
