Katrina Patterson of northeast Columbia examines a pine tree in her backyard that was struck by lightning during a recent storm. Residents of northeast Columbia witnessed the powerful forces of nature first–hand during a recent thunderstorm that brought lightning and heavy rains to the area. With a deafening crash, a furious bolt of lightning struck pine trees on the shore of the neighborhood’s small pond, stripping bark from top to bottom. Resident Suzanne Enz was standing at a window and looked up just in time to see the blinding bolt of lightning touch the ground in front of her eyes only a few yards away. “I was expecting the trees to fall on the house and the roof to crash in,” she said. “It felt like total chaos all around me.”

Neighbors Carl and Sara had just pulled into their driveway and were attempting to take groceries out of the car during torrential rain when the bolt struck. “We ducked for cover,” said Carl.

As quickly as the furious storm had started, it passed. And as the rain subsided, neighbors cautiously wandered outside to survey the situation and talk about their experience. “I saw a white flash inside the house, and my TV and cable went out,” said neighbor Katrina Patterson.

Her two dogs sniffed around the trees and alerted her to the location of the damage. She found a large toad laying on its back under the trees, alive but obviously completely stunned. “It was still breathing so I turned it over and it jumped into the pond," she said. “It must have been in shock.”

Everyone in the vicinity at the time of the incident was visibly shaken including the pets. “That was the loudest sound I'd ever heard in my life!” said Enz. “One of our dogs dove under my desk, the other ran for the closet, and our little Beagle sat on the couch shaking like a leaf!”

The storm demonstrated both the terrifying and fascinating power of nature’s fury. As neighbors examined the damage, they found pieces of tree bark strewn on the ground and thrown into bushes. The remnants were in the form of long, orange colored strips as if they were giant shredded carrots. “They're sticky and feel like sap,” noticed Patterson. Nearby, a stunned dragon fly clung to a branch, alive but motionless. “It doesn't react to anything,” said Andreas Enz. “This is strange behavior.” Neighbors wondered if the lightning flash had blinded it.

The force of the strike dug several inches into the ground. The electrical current apparently traveled along a nearby chain–link fence and struck the Enz resident with full force, violently wrenching the siding up, twisting wood, and damaging the exterior of the house. Each gate along the chain–link fence showed evidence of scorching. Portions of the home’s AC fuse box shattered into pieces and were blown off the house in all directions by the extreme electrical surge. “I found the fuses laying in the grass a few feet away. I put them back in and the unit still works,” said the amazed homeowner. He assured his shaken wife by saying, “Don’t worry. Lightning never strikes the same place twice.” Strangely enough, three days earlier she had dreamed their home was struck by lightning.