SAN TAN VALLEY, AZ (AZFamily) — Lisette De La Cruz and her boyfriend Miguel Olivas Jr. are still shaken after witnessing lightning strike a palm tree just a few meters away from them.
Lisette said they had just returned from a camping trip and were talking on their porch just before 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning.
Miguel was filming with his mobile phone camera when suddenly a loud explosion was heard and a bright flash was seen before Miguel turned the camera around to show the burning palm tree.
Miguel said, his mind racing.
“I had so many things going through my head, like, ‘Holy bimbos!'” he said. “It sounded like fireworks going off out of the blue and I jumped.”
The couple said they ran into the house to alert Lisette’s family, and her father reportedly doused the tree with water using a hose while they waited for the fire department to arrive.
The palm tree is still standing, although part of the upper trunk has burned to ash. Charred pieces of the tree have made a mess in the backyard and by the pool.
Lisette said some embers landed in a neighbor’s bush but did not start a fire. She and Miguel are thankful no one was hurt, but they are still in shock.
“This is unbelievable. Something like this only happens once in a lifetime,” Lisette described the incident.
Miguel added: “It was just a beautiful experience, but at the same time very scary. But I had a few tears in my eyes because I didn’t know how to react or something,” he said.
He said every time they see the video, their adrenaline levels shoot up again.
“This leaves me speechless. For me, this is better than a lottery ticket,” he said.
The Rural Metro Fire Department responded to two lightning strikes on trees in the San Tan Valley and one in the Rio Verde corridor.
Arizona’s family was told that all of the fires were single trees that were easily contained.
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