By Times staff
MONROE - Weird.
That's how Marieta Smith describes the lightening strike that put three holes in the patio of the home she shares with husband Myron in the 2100 block of 17th Avenue near Monroe High School.
While areas to the north, east and west of Monroe saw heavy damage early Tuesday, Monroe escaped the storms unscathed - with the exception of the Smiths' torn-up patio.
Smith said about 12:30 or 12:45 a.m. Tuesday, they heard a "horrible banging" and she ran to the front of the house, thinking it was something in the street. "All I saw was lightning," she said.
The flashes illuminated the whole house, scaring her 6-year-old great-grandson, who was visiting. He asked to sleep with his grandparents, and "jumped into bed with us before I even got the "yes'" out," she said.
On Wednesday morning, it was her great-grandson who noticed something amiss on the patio.
"He asked, "what's that hole in your patio?'" Smith said. In fact there were three holes, each with the edges burned.
Smith said it looks like the lightening came up through the patio. The edges of the holes are raised, and the force of the lightning thrust dust from the concrete up under fascia on the home. A smoker grill on the patio was also "loaded with concrete" and its cover appears shredded, she said. The side of a patio storage box was also blown out.
The couple lost several appliances, a couple of computers and a television from the strike. But for the most part, Smith counts herself lucky.
"It could have been a lot worse," she said, especially since a large tree next to the patio appears to have gone untouched.
"It was weird," Smith said. "I've never seen anything like it."
MONROE - Weird.
That's how Marieta Smith describes the lightening strike that put three holes in the patio of the home she shares with husband Myron in the 2100 block of 17th Avenue near Monroe High School.
While areas to the north, east and west of Monroe saw heavy damage early Tuesday, Monroe escaped the storms unscathed - with the exception of the Smiths' torn-up patio.
Smith said about 12:30 or 12:45 a.m. Tuesday, they heard a "horrible banging" and she ran to the front of the house, thinking it was something in the street. "All I saw was lightning," she said.
The flashes illuminated the whole house, scaring her 6-year-old great-grandson, who was visiting. He asked to sleep with his grandparents, and "jumped into bed with us before I even got the "yes'" out," she said.
On Wednesday morning, it was her great-grandson who noticed something amiss on the patio.
"He asked, "what's that hole in your patio?'" Smith said. In fact there were three holes, each with the edges burned.
Smith said it looks like the lightening came up through the patio. The edges of the holes are raised, and the force of the lightning thrust dust from the concrete up under fascia on the home. A smoker grill on the patio was also "loaded with concrete" and its cover appears shredded, she said. The side of a patio storage box was also blown out.
The couple lost several appliances, a couple of computers and a television from the strike. But for the most part, Smith counts herself lucky.
"It could have been a lot worse," she said, especially since a large tree next to the patio appears to have gone untouched.
"It was weird," Smith said. "I've never seen anything like it."