Another exciting day on the pond late yesterday afternoon. Around 5:00 PM we had a bad thunder storm roll through the area. At 5:15pm there was a lighting strike in the neighborhood. Maya and I were sitting on the couch when BANG POP! At the same time I also noticed a small flash out of the corner of my eye and saw the electronic fence for Maya blow out. I went over the Home Automation computer in the kitchen and the module that controls the fence was issuing lots of errors to the log. I went back over to the control box for the fence and unplugged the module and plugged the wall wart directly into the wall, and it still didn't work.....fried!

When I stood, up I glance over to the Byrne house and saw fire shooting from the barn! I grabbed the phone and called 911....the time was 5:21 PM. I ran over and grabbed a garden hose to try and control the fire until the fire department arrived..... I lost water pressure.... still not sure why. The Lunenburg fire department showed up a few minutes later..... The lighting had struck 2 pine trees on the north side of the barn and the fire started on the east end of the barn. The fire department was able to save Jacks work shop, but the storage area on the east end was a total loss.....





This was the article in the Sentinel & Enterprise
Lightning strikes, shed burns in Lunenburg
By Damien Fisher dfisher@sentinelandenterprise.com
Article Launched: 07/03/2008 06:00:59 AM EDT

LUNENBURG -- Lightning sparked a building fire on Lancaster Avenue on Wednesday evening when a violent thunderstorm moved through the region.
Lunenburg Deputy Fire Chief Pat Sullivan said lightning hit a pine tree near a 20-foot by 40-foot tool shed of a Lancaster Avenue home.
"A neighbor saw it hit the tree and then start the fire," Sullivan said.
The fire destroyed about 50 percent of the building, according to Sullivan. The shed fire did not move to any of the nearby homes, Sullivan said.
"Luckily, there was no exposure to any other building," Sullivan said.
Fitchburg Fire Department responded with Mutual Aid to Lunenburg.
Lunenburg firefighters spent about an hour Wednesday chasing reports of lightning strikes, according to Fire Chief Scott Glenny.
Lightning also kept firefighters in Leominster busy.
Strikes were reported all over south Leominster, with utility wires reportedly going down on Lancaster Street. Shirley responded to one report of lightning striking a house in the north side of town.
The house was not damaged in that strike .