BILLINGS — Three individuals were hit by lightning at Glacier High School in Kalispell on Monday. Even though storms are common in Montana, they can pose a threat to people even when they’re indoors.
Twenty years ago, Billings resident Liz Fulton learned this lesson the hard way.
“It all happened so quickly. I experienced an indirect lightning strike, but it felt like a direct hit,” said Fulton during a video call on Tuesday.
It was a spring evening in Billings on Gregory Drive two decades ago when Fulton was trying to bring her cat inside.
“Lightning struck the tree in my front yard, just a few feet from the porch,” Fulton recalled.
She went to turn on her porch light, unaware of what was about to happen.
“When the lightning came down through the tree, it passed back through me into the house via the switch,” explained Fulton.
The electrical wires had intertwined with the tree roots, causing the lightning to follow the path through the switch. The force from the strike propelled her into a wall.
“I instinctively jumped up off the floor, fearing I might have lost an arm because I felt an intense heat traveling through my arm. But when I looked down, I realized I was unharmed,” Fulton recounted.
Fortunately, Fulton survived the incident, but it serves as a reminder of the commonality of such occurrences.
“On average, there are around 27 lightning-related fatalities per year nationally,” stated Billings National Weather Service meteorologist John Wetenkamp.
Wetenkamp highlighted that nearly 200 injuries are reported annually due to lightning strikes.
“It’s crucial to understand that if you can hear thunder, the thunderstorm is close enough to generate lightning that can hit you,” Wetenkamp advised.
He emphasized that the safest place during a thunderstorm is inside a building or a hard-top vehicle with closed windows, with caution exercised.
“Lightning can travel through any metal objects or wires and enter a home in that manner. It’s best to avoid using any appliances during a thunderstorm,” Wetenkamp cautioned.
It’s a lesson of life that Fulton fortunately survived.
“One never truly forgets what that night sounded, felt, and looked like,” Fulton concluded.