Brandon Township-Fire Chief Bob and Karen McArthur’s White Swamp Oak tree has had the misfortune of being struck by lightning twice.
It wouldn’t be so uncommon, except both strikes occured in the same year and within six months.
‘I’ve lived here for 27 years, and the tree has never been hit before. This is the second time this year alone,? said Bob.
The two were downstairs getting ready for work around 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning when they heard the glass windows in their bedroom blowout. If the two would have been in the room, one could only speculate on what injuries they would have suffered.
‘The strike dug a trench into the tree several inches deep. In another half hour, kids would have been walking past the house on the way to school,? said McArthur.
The powerful blast shattered chunks of tree with such force, they shattered the neighbor’s window across the street.
McArthur said the strike blew five-pound pieces of debris 800 feet away from the house. One chunk of the tree was even imbedded into a piece of their patio furniture.
McArthur’s fire truck was in his driveway when the bolt hit and ended up blowing out seven pieces of electrical equipment at the fire station.
Assistant Chief Dave Borst, lives across the street from McArthur and said the also strike affected the electrical system on his wife’s car.
Department of Public Works employees were busy at McArthur’s house cleaning the streets and sidewalks after the blast. The only other reported problems after the storm were three downed phone lines.