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Lightning Strikes Cause Minor Damage Around Region

ROSEVILLE, Calif. (CBS13) -- A storm that brought record-low temperatures to the Central Valley also delivered lightning strikes that caused damage but fortunately didn't result in injuries.

One lightning strike hit an 80-foot redwood tree near Sacramento State, sounding like a bomb exploding while toppling half of the tree onto a home, according to homeowner Merrill Hoffelt.

"Mother Nature is not being very nice to us," Hoffelt said. "It's really bad luck."

The debris demolished the structure's atrium and patio and came to rest on the roof, but nobody inside the home was seriously injured.

Another lightning strike snapped a tree in half in a Roseville neighborhood, crushing a vehicle parked in a driveway but sparing the structure from serious damage.

"We were in the driveway making fun of a guy on a bicycle trying to stay dry in the hail," said neighbor Tim Staci. The bolt ripped through the tree and then slammed bystanders with a powerful thunderclap, he added.

"It [felt] like it collapsed your lung from the compression," Tim said.

Workers at Telefunken Electronics Company on the 7500 block of Foothills Boulevard called authorities Sunday afternoon after a lightning strike caused a fire in a hydrogen vent pipe.

Firefighters said the flames extinguished themselves before they arrived. Investigators said there were no leaks to the hydrogen system.

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