Lightning strike hits tree, causing gas leaks and a fire in a West Omaha neighborhood

By Eddie Messel

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    OMAHA, Nebraska (KETV) — A lightning strike and thunder woke up two West Omaha families Monday night with a loud bang. The strike hit a tree branch and went through the tree and into the ground, damaging the gas line underneath the properties.

It’s an event KETV NewsWatch 7 meteorologist Luke Vickery says is rare but possible.

“You don’t really think of a lot of times during these storms. You think, ‘OK, I’m in safe shelter when I’m in my home,’ but there is some less frequent occasions where you can get struck by lightning inside your home just by pieces of your home being a conductor,’ Vickery said.

The strike didn’t just cause gas leaks to the property the tree was on but to their neighbor’s home as well. It started a fire in the basement. The homeowner tells KETV that when he opened the door to the unfinished side of the basement, the roof was already in flames. Their efforts to put out the fire were unsuccessful because of the gas leak.

“It just needs to hit plumbing or some kind of electrical current, which, you know, of course is underground, and once it gets into that, it can get into your home,” Vickery said.

The fire in the basement even went up to the bathroom on the main floor, causing the shower to leak soot. It’s a reminder to always be cautious if taking a shower during serious storms.

“If there’s a big lightning storm going, you probably want to stay outside of, you know, showering, you don’t want to be messing with the dishes or things like that, anywhere where there’s water that’s coming from plumbing,” Vickery said.

Firefighters were able to put the fire out quickly, but the damage was still done. Ash lined the floor of the basement, and the roof was charred from the flames.

The Metropolitan Utilities District was on site as well; they had to shut the gas off to both homes, which also needed to be aired out.

The homeowners had contractors out on Monday working on the leaks, and MUD will turn the gas back on for the property that was originally struck. However, for the neighbor’s house, which caught fire, they will have some work to do before that happens. They have already been in contact with their insurance company, and they will try to get work started as soon as possible.

Both homeowners say they feel lucky because this could have been a lot worse.

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