EDMONTON – It’s a sight you don’t see every day: shards of bark scattered across the sidewalk from a now hollowed out tree.
The tree carnage is the aftermath of a lightning strike that gave Old Strathcona residents near 85 Avenue and 100 Street a bit of a scare Thursday morning.
“I was having a coffee and there was a flash and a real loud bang. Enough to wake you up — you didn’t need coffee,” said Jay Bodner.
“I would imagine if a 155mm artillery shell landed outside the house, that’s probably what it would sound like.”
Dale Cannard said his ears were still ringing an hour after what was quite a close call.
“I was just getting out of my vehicle and the lightning struck the tree about 20 feet away,” he said.
READ MORE: Lightning: Know how to stay safe
Cannard remembers feeling the heat for a second, then seeing “lumber flying all over the place.”
Bodner says he found one piece of bark about 200 feet away from the tree.
“I’ll probably keep it as a souvenir.”
According to Global Edmonton meteorologist Nicola Crosbie, storms are in Edmonton’s forecast every afternoon for the next six days.
It’s estimated that — on average in Canada — there are between nine and 10 lightning-related deaths and up to 164 lightning-related injuries each year.
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