SAN TAN VALLEY, Arizona (KTVK/KPHO/Gray News) – A lightning strike set a palm tree on fire just feet away from a woman and her boyfriend who caught the whole thing on camera.

Lisette De La Cruz and her boyfriend Miguel Olivas Jr. are still shaken after witnessing lightning strike a palm tree in their garden.

“This is unbelievable. Something like this only happens once in a lifetime,” said De La Cruz.

De La Cruz said they had just returned from a camping trip and were talking on their porch shortly before 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning when Olivas began recording the conversation on his cellphone camera.

The video showed a loud explosion and a bright flash before Olivas switched the camera to show the burning palm tree.

Olivas 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 De Las Cruz’s family, and her father reportedly doused the tree with water using a hose while they waited for firefighters 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.

De Las Cruz said some embers landed in a neighbor’s bush but did not start a fire. She and Olivas are thankful no one was hurt, but they are still in shock.

“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 anything,” Olivas 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.

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