"SURVEYOR, WV (WVNS) — Lighting struck twice at Lake Stephens during an employee picnic on the evening of Monday, July 17, 2023, county officials reported.
Director of Raleigh County Parks and Recreation Authority Molly Williams said a lightning bolt struck the “rain box” at the Lake Stephens splash pad.
Moments later, she said, a second bolt struck the marina, short-circuiting the breaker box.
Although people were at both the splash pad and the marina, nobody was injured, according to Williams.
“Unfortunately, there were people there. The storm came in so fast and it did its damage and it left just as fast as it came in,” said Williams. “We moved everybody to safety, as soon as the storm hit. Everybody stayed in place until the storm had passed, and then everybody went home.”
On Tuesday, July 18, 2023, she said maintenance workers were assessing damage.
The splash pad was closed and being cleaned on Tuesday afternoon."
Damn. Lucky no one was hurt.
I was outside with the dogs Monday afternoon and saw/heard a big bolt of lightning strike something on a nearby hilltop. About 5 minutes later, I looked at my phone and realized what it was. Had no cell signal at all until about 8 that evening, so safe to say the tower covering my area was what got struck.
