ST. GEORGE — A suspected lightning strike caused no visible damage to a house in Little Valley Wednesday evening as a strong storm cell moved through the St. George area.
“This evening we had a report by a passerby of lightning striking the house,” St. George Fire Department Chief Robert Stoker told St. George News outside of 2066 3010 East around 6:20 p.m.
“Right now we’re just going through the home,” Stoker added. “It did trip some breakers so we’re checking appliances to make sure there’s no damage.”
In the past, Stoker said, when lightning strikes a home, electricity will travel through the home and ground out.
One incident in a nearby neighborhood a year or two ago, he noted, saw lightning travel through a house and come out in a natural gas line into a dryer in the garage.
“They’re checking those appliances right now to make sure that we don’t have any leaks with our gas detectors,” Stoker said. “And then just checking some of the other areas.”
Not seeing any damage to the roof or any burned shingles, Stoker estimated that maybe the lightning struck a window overhang on the upper floor of the house, but there was no visible damage there either.
Stoker said that no one was home at the time of the strike, and neighbors were able to notify the homeowner, who returned home quickly.
No injuries were reported, Stoker said, and fire and clean-up crews were departing the scene around 6:30 p.m.
Even though no apparent damage was done, Stoker advised neighbors to always call the fire department when they see lightning strike a home.
“If a home does get struck, please give us a call, call 911 and have us come out,” Stoker said. “We’d rather check it rather than have it have a smoldering fire in the attic or something like that. Rather be safe than sorry.”
The storm cell that moved through the area caused active lightning strikes above the Washington Fields part of town and further south above the airport.
Washington County was under a flood advisory issued by the National Weather Service at the time the lightning strike call went out.
This report is based on statements by emergency responders and may not include the full scope of the findings.
Photo Gallery
Emergency responders outside a Little Valley home where a suspected lightning strike occurred, St. George, Utah, Aug. 23, 2023 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News
Emergency responders outside a Little Valley home where a suspected lightning strike occurred, St. George, Utah, Aug. 23, 2023 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News
St. George Fire Chief Robert Stoker estimated that lightning might have struck the window overhang of this house in Little Valley, St. George, Utah, Aug. 23, 2023 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News
Neighbors gather outside a Little Valley home where a suspected lightning strike occurred, St. George, Utah, Aug. 23, 2023 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News
A screen shot of a Doppler radar image of the storm cell that moved through the area, St. George, Utah, Aug. 23, 2023 | Image by the National Weather Service, St. George News
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