Lightning no joke around Parker

300 strikes in hour, officials say; 2 fires damage residences

By Penny Parker, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Bart Deferme thought his friend was joking.

"I was at work around 4:10, and I got a call from a friend who told me that my house was on fire," Deferme said Wednesday. "You can never take that seriously when you hear that on the phone the first time."

But his friend wasn't joking.

Lightning had entered the roof and burned out the attic and top floor of his house - one of about 300 lightning strikes in an hour Tuesday within a 5-mile radius of the Parker home, fire officials said.

And - no joke - Deferme's wife, Shayna, is a former meteorologist.

Deferme rushed to his Canterbury neighborhood Tuesday to find a small crowd gathered around a couple of firetrucks, all in front of his house.

Shayna, their two kids and pets were all outside, safe.

"We all lucked out," Deferme said.

Not totally. The $100,000 worth of damage has rendered the home uninhabitable for the next three months.

In the meantime, the Deferme family has taken up residence with friends.

"We have a number of very good friends and neighbors, and they're hooking us up with dinners and a place to sleep," Deferme said.

In all of 2006, the Parker Fire Department responded to only one lightning-caused building fire. So far this year, the number has reached eight.

"And some additional brush fires," said Parker Fire spokeswoman Cheryl Poage.

Within minutes of the fire at the Deferme house, the lightning storm caused a second fire four miles down the road.

It entered through the house's electrical system and started a fire when sparks from an overloaded outlet fell into a nearby trash can, Poage said.

That fire did only minor damage because the owner returned home just as it started, Poage said, while nobody was home at the Deferme house.

So what's a homeowner to do to guard against lightning? Lightning rods help but don't protect against all strikes, Poage said.

If a rod isn't installed properly, it can actually make a house more vulnerable.

Unplugging appliances can help. That's not possible with all of them.

For the most part, it comes down to luck, Poage said.

"It's pretty crazy," Deferme said. "If you look around Parker, you can see thousands of houses. And it had to be my house.

"I've got a dying aspen tree in my front yard, and I wonder why couldn't it just have taken out my dying aspen?"

Lightning safety tips

• When you first see lightning or hear thunder, consider heading to a building or car. Lightning often precedes rain, so don't wait for the rain before finding shelter.

• If lightning is within six miles, seek shelter. Using the "flash to bang" counting system: count how many seconds are spaced between lightning flashes and thunderclaps. Five seconds equals one mile.

• Avoid water, high ground, open spaces and metal objects if you're outdoors. Try to find shelter as quickly as possible.

• Indoors, avoid water, doors and windows. Do not use the telephone. Turn off, unplug and stay away from appliances, computers and TV sets.

• If lightning is striking nearby, you should keep a minimum distance of 15 feet between you and other people.

• Wait 30 minutes after the last lightning strike before returning to your activities.Source: National Lightning Safety Institute, Louisville

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