Lightning bolt blows hole in roof of St. George home

A rainbow appears above a home where a hole had been punched into the roof by a lightning bolt in St. George on July 22, 2021.

A rainbow appears above a home where a hole had been punched into the roof by a lightning bolt in St. George on July 22, 2021. (Chris Reed, St. George News)


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ST. GEORGE — A lightning bolt tore open a hole 3- to 4-foot wide in the roof of a home in the Little Valley area of St. George on Thursday evening, then carried through ducting and started a small fire in the garage.

St. George firefighters on the scene, assisted by St. George police, said they received a 911 call around 8:15 p.m., about the strike on the 1800 block of 2740 East and arrived to see the hole and neighbors already making progress against any fire with their garden hose.

"I'll give them all the credit. They got up on the roof with the hose and were able to put that fire out pretty much until we arrived," St. George Fire Chief Robert Stoker said, adding that the department was busy Thursday night with several fires sparked by lightning strikes around the area, but none that rose to the level seen at 2740 East.

The bolt that hit the house started a small fire in the attic, but the bright plasma didn't stop there. Stoker said it traveled down a dryer vent and blew a hole in the gas line behind the dryer, starting the fire.

Once again, Stoker said, the neighbors came to the rescue.

"Luckily, the neighbors were in the right mind and shut the gas off," Stoker said. "The back of the dryer is burned fairly well because of that gas coming out."

Read the full article at St. George News.

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