One Day at a Time

Sometime on Monday, July 3, lightening struck my mother's house. Given the amount and types of damage, and given the poor electrical wiring done by the previous owner, it is absolutely amazing that the house didn't catch fire. The eletricians came out yesterday for the electrical assessment and possibly pieced some more details together. We don't know if the lightening struck the spruce tree (huge monster of a tree) and then jumped to the house, or just went straight to the house. But there are definitely melted shingles and a hole where the strike hit, on the roof over mom's bedroom. The exit point is from an unused jack of some kind (phone, cable, antenna, etc) because the switchplate covering it flew off and shattered and the wall surrounding it is scorched, as are the pair of shoes on the shoe rack closest to the exit site.

It seems like the lightening went through the entire house. It knocked out the doorbell (front door is right where the living room shares the wall with the library), the garage door (which is on the wall bordering the living room and kitchen--the door wouldn't even work manually), the phone and answering machine (in the kitchen not far from the garage), the furnace (in the basement under the upstairs bathroom), and the computer (off, and on a surge protector; located in my old basement bedroom under mom's room). On the way through, it also decided to melt and knock off a few ceiling tiles in the storeroom, right under the guest room.

With all of the damage that did happen, what didn't happen is even more incredible. Mom was at work, so out of the house. My uncle had been working on her computer (brand spanking new, by the way), and had left only 5 or so minutes prior to the strike. Two of her dogs were kenneled in the library, and her other dog and 23+ year old cat were loose in the house. I absolutely cannot believe that with the construction of the house (a do-it-yourselfer who didn't know what he was doing) and the amount of damage that neither the tree nor the house caught on fire. The only critter who seems a little traumatized is the kitty, who we suspect might have been on mom's bed when it happened. She's usually never concerned by thunder or noises, but the 4th of July fireworks did seem to upset her quite a bit.

Update from my uncle:

Here is an update on the lightning strike.

The lightning did hit the spruce tree next to the house and jumped from there to the roof. Today, I put a temporary patch on the hole in the roof to keep water out until roofers can get to it. Last night I talked to Dell, and they are sending replacement computer parts (I am guessing a power supply and a mother board) to a technician, who will install them next week. The electrician determined that the furnace is getting power to it, but nothing is coming out of its transformer, so the furnace repair people will have to fix that. Jan did get someone to repair the garage door opener - he replaced a controller card ($70 part plus labor).

It has taken a lot of her time with the insurance company, repairmen, etc. Next time, she should request disaster not strike during month end close.