Lightning From Rare Bay Area Thunderstorm Leaves Damage In Its Wake
SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) -- The dramatic thunderstorm and lightning show Sunday morning left behind damage that stretched across the Bay Area.
Will Power said he heard the lightning bolts that hit two of his neighbors' San Jose homes and set one on fire.
"This happened all at the same time, like ba-ba-boom!" Power said.
The fire started around 8 a.m., he said. The woman, who lives alone, was able to get out safely.
In Redwood City at around 5:15 a.m., Gary Webber said he was cooling off with the door open when lightning suddenly struck his neighbor's redwood tree.
"Oh, it just exploded. It was loud," said Webber. "I mean, my wife was on the side of the house and she screamed because it was so loud. And then all this debris just came flying down."
He said, luckily, the strange weather had also brought rain and likely kept the tree from bursting into flames.
"When it hit the tree it just showered sparks by the millions all over the place," Webber said. "Fortunately, it was raining really hard."
Both Webber and Power said this type of weather is a rare sight in the Bay Area.
"45 years I've been living here, I've never seen this much lightning in the four hours period. It was just like every minute," Power said.
"Pennsylvania, Ohio, stuff like that you expect it all the time. Not here," said Webber.
KPIX Weather Anchors Paul Heggen and Darren Peck said that more lightning and thunder could hit the Bay Area again Monday morning.
Webber said his wife is on edge. Their neighbor's unit, which was destroyed, is just feet from their unit on Oropeza Street.
"It's hard to feel lucky when you see somebody lose everything they ever had," said Webber.
