Tragedy in our Country

[randiliana]

We had a terrible tragedy out here on Saturday. Brother and sister were out fencing (28 and 25). Saturday was a gorgeous if rather warm day. No real clouds in the sky. Lightning hit them, or the fence they were working on, killed him, and she is in a Regina hospital. I haven't heard how serious she is.

DH, says he only saw 1 lightning bolt all afternoon, and figures that must have been the one. There were no thunder clouds to speak of. Around 4-5 in the afternoon. The sister called home on her cell phone and all she could do was scream into it. Dad called a neighbour to the pasture and he is the one that found them.

It is a terrible loss of a very nice young man and will be felt around our community. Hopefully his sister will recover well, with out too many handicaps......

Lightning is a wonderful thing to see, but too often we forget what it can do. Pretty scary in this country where fences can go for miles, and they often hook into other fences that also go for miles.....

 

[Northern Rancher]

That is terrible news for sure-I hope the sister makes out ok. It doesn't seem all thaty long ago that Roger Bierbach got killid out riding in the Cypress Hills. I had one close call-gathered some cows to A'I and rode home to get the semen to breed them-I got back and lightning had hit three in the A'I corral.

 

[Faster horses]

Our prayers go out to the sister and the family.
What a tragedy.

And NR, that was a close call. You must have 9 lives!!! :wink:

 

[kolanuraven]

I think I'm about half way right when I say this.


Lightning can strike out as much as 50 miles away from it's parent storm.


That's a bad deal for sure.

 

[talldog]

May God bless their Family !!!!!!

 

[Anonymous]

I agree- Bad deal....Being near a fence is bad during lightning...I've seen situations where the lightning traveled down a fenceline for over a 1/4 mile killing several cattle that were near the fence....

 

[Kato]

That's a terrible thing to happen. Thank goodness for the cell phone, or she would have really been in even worse trouble!

 

[randiliana]

It is a sad story, for sure, but at least it sounds like she is going to be OK. They are saying that she didn't actually get struck by the lightning. She will be out of the hospital on Thursday is the last word.

As for him, he was in the process of splicing the barbed wire together. The lighting hit a couple posts down from where he was working.

 

[WyomingRancher]

That's very tragic . We've been having wicked lightning storms in the afternoon, and I usually put the horses in when it hits. Guess you never know :???: .

 

[Nicky]

how awful It wasn't the Eastmonds was it?

 

[Trinity man]

I hate to hear that. I hope the girl pull through. There was a local high school (Grapeland Texas) football team pacticing last summer and something like that happen there. It killed 3 boys and injured 5 more. There was not a cloud for 10 miles in any direction of them.

 

[Cedarcreek]

Its a sad day for the family. If it hit that close even a fence with all steel posts might not have saved him. I have seen it travel 3/4 of a mile and kill sheep and it had to jump across a close gate too.

They are going to need our prayers.

 

[randiliana]

how awful It wasn't the Eastmonds was it?

Oh, no, this was 2 hours south of Mortlach.

Haven't talked to them in a while, but so far as I know they are doing well.

 

[Blkbuckaroo]

Was fencing in bad weather also,sorry to hear that Randi.Hope your sister recovers well.

 

[jigs]

our thoughts and prayers are with them.

Kola is right, if you can hear the thunder, you are close enough to be hit by lightning, it can really reach out there.

we had a big storm build up the other night, and the wife wanted to go spotting with me, we were on the outer edge of anything spectacular and the lightning hit REAL close, the flash blinded us, and the bang was so close it caused a concussion inside the pickup(my window was down and hers up) she was ready to head home after that !

 

[Cal]

I can think of a few kids softball/baseball coaches that should read this.

 

[MsSage]

sending prayers to the family and frineds.
Thought I would post this in hopes some might think twice while out in thunder storms.

An average lightning bolt runs about 5 miles in length but using radar Myron measured a lightning bolt that covered an electrifying 93 miles.

 

[randiliana]

sending prayers to the family and frineds.
Thought I would post this in hopes some might think twice while out in thunder storms.

An average lightning bolt runs about 5 miles in length but using radar Myron measured a lightning bolt that covered an electrifying 93 miles.

WOW!! We certainly have a renewed respect for lightning around here.

The sister is supposed to be out of the hospital today, she has a burst ear drum, and numerous burns where she was wearing jewellery. The funeral for her brother is tomorrow, it will be big, and it will be very sad.....

 

[hillsdown]

Randi, my mom talked to her sister yesterday and she knows the family..Small world . That is what she told mom as well, that it sounds like she will lose her hearing in one ear and has burn marks from a necklace she was wearing. I guess they were almost done fencing and he was stringing wire when he got struck (this is all hearsay so may be wrong). Sad very sad..I am glad that she is going to be almost healthy physically, but it is going to be a long haul for her emotionally after this tragedy. To see a loved one killed is ,,,words cannot express.

 

[randiliana]

Randi, my mom talked to her sister yesterday and she knows the family..Small world . That is what she told mom as well, that it sounds like she will lose her hearing in one ear and has burn marks from a necklace she was wearing. I guess they were almost done fencing and he was stringing wire when he got struck (this is all hearsay so may be wrong). Sad very sad..I am glad that she is going to be almost healthy physically, but it is going to be a long haul for her emotionally after this tragedy. To see a loved one killed is ,,,words cannot express.

It is a small world. What you heard is similar to what is going around here. Probably not exactly what happened, but close.