Lightning Safety Tips/Links
May 24, 2000
Parents rush to Midvalley Elementary School in Midvale where lighting struck the crowded playground.
Seven children are injured, three of them are taken to area hospitals.
An 11-year-old girl is in critical condition.
News specialist Richard Piatt reports.
It happened as school let out for the day.
The kids say there were dark clouds, no rain, but one big bang.
Jacob Burton/6th Grader: "I'VE NEVER HEARD ANYTHING SO LOUD, OR FELT ANYTHING SO BIG."
The lightning strike turned the blacktop playground to chaos just after 2:30 today.
Crowded with young people heading home for the day, it hurt or scared just about everyone in the area.
Erica Arles/5th Grader: "THERE WAS JUST A LIGHT, A BOOM. AND EVERYBODY FELL TO THE GROUND AND SOME PEOPLE GOT UP AND SOME PEOPLE STAYED."
Debbie Kashishian/Neighbor: "IT HIT THE GROUND AND THE TWO GIRLS LAID THERE SIDE BY SIDE."
One girl, an 11 year old, suffered the most serious injuries and was airlifted to Primary Children's Hospital.
Two other girls were taken by ambulance to Cottonwood Hospital with less serious injuries. Four other youngsters were treated and released.
Emergency crews believe the strike was a frightening near miss.
Chief Stephen Higgs/Midvale Fire Dept.: "THE INDICATIONS NOW ARE NOT THAT IT WAS A DIRECT HIT, BUT WE'RE STILL INVESTIGATING THAT."
Parents were called to the school to pick up those who were upset by the lightning.
Debbie Kennedy says she saw the storm coming, but never thought her daughter's school would be hit.
Debbie Kennedy/Mother: "I DIDN'T IMAGINE THIS WOULD HAPPEN. I'M GLAD SHE'S OKAY AND I HOPE THE OTHERS TOO WILL BE FINE."
Just a few blocks away in Midvale, another man was hit by lightning at about the same time.
He was working on a condominium when the bolt traveled down a pine tree.
He was also taken to Cottonwood Hospital, and is expected to recover.
Lightning Awareness Week
Governor Mike Leavitt noted the "sad irony" of today's lightning strikes, which happened roughly 20 minutes before he sat down to sign a proclamation making this "Lightning Awareness Week."
The Governor says that according to some studies, 48 Utahns have been killed and 117 injured by lightning since 1950.
Lightning Facts
Here are some other interesting facts about lightning:
Lightning strikes the ground 90 million times each year in the United States.
Those strikes are the most common from May through September.
And they generally occur in the afternoon and evening hours when thunderstorm activity is at it's peak.
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