From the desk of Marilyn and Rachael Booth, Landaff residents:

In the late afternoon of Sunday the 31st of May, Landaff experienced an earth shaking event when a severe storm sent a single flash of lightning into the middle of town instantly accompanied by what could only be described as an ear shattering explosion. It was loud and so bright that everyone thought the lightning had struck somewhere on their own property. The bolt had actually struck on the side of the hill between Gordon Pond and Pearl Lake road adjacent to the 50 acres owned by us and across the road from the Sagars’ property.

After the storm receded, we noticed smoke rising from the woods near the east shore of the pond. We called the Landaff Volunteer Fire Company who showed up at once, climbed down the steep slope to find the fire and had it quickly extinguished. On their back up the hill they found where the lightning had actually struck. A large maple tree had literally exploded, leaving a crater in the ground. The lightning bolt’s electrical current had gone through the ground and, with the help of some very old imbedded barbed wire, set the nearby trees on fire. We were all very lucky that the weather has been so wet lately or this might have ended very differently.

The strike caused minor problems around town with some electrical equipment damage and things falling from walls as if there had been an earthquake. Our house seemed to have taken the brunt of the blast with our whole home surge protector destroyed (but it saved our house and I recommend everyone get one installed), circuits popped and our land line phone control box high up on a pole at the driveway destroyed as well. The physical damage was actually pretty minimal but psychologically, a whole lot of nerves were definitely rattled badly.

It could have been so much worse. A fire in the woods anywhere in Landaff is a possible disaster. But the LVFD stepped up quickly and made sure that disaster never happened. We all owe them our sincerest thanks for their dedication to our town’s safety.