Colorado Springs Fire Department responds to multiple lightning strikes in one day
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - The Colorado Springs Fire Department is reminding people of lightning safety protocols as Colorado winds deeper into thunderstorm season.
One Colorado Springs family called 9-1-1 after seeing lightning strike the forest directly above their westside home.
Shari Smith, a neighbor who lived below the family in elevation, watched it all happen through binoculars as the smoke grew higher and higher.
"I've never seen it right outside my driveway like this," Smith said. "You never get used to it ... It's just very frightening."
Her neighbors up the street heard the lightning strike, one of whom was a kid riding his bike.
"I saw this big lightning strike, and I didn't think much of it at first, but then I saw the smoke," Jackson Niemeier said.
He says he immediately headed inside to tell his parents. Minutes later, the Colorado Springs Fire Department was in Niemeier's driveway, using drones to guide teams to put the small grass fire out of the steep terrain above his family's home.
"We actually had a few lightning storms come through the area, and one touched down above us here on the hill, right behind this home," Lieutenant Chris Weaver with the Colorado Springs Fire Department said.
Weaver went on to warn Colorado Springs Residents about the danger of lightning starting fires, even after a rainstorm. Thankfully, weaver says there are things residents can do to stay safe.
"This home right behind us is doing a great job. They maintain their distances around their house with the scrub oak. They have concrete around their house. They mow their lawns. It's all short. They're a prime example of what we should be trying to do here in the urban interface," Weaver said.
Weaver also added that hikers should be mindful of storms during the summer, and go inside when a severe thunderstorm rolls around.
"Don't be up high in the afternoons," Weaver said. "If you're going to go up high, try to be done by noon, because we know every afternoon we're going to get these storms."
