A teen became the 13th victim of lightning strikes in Burke County so far this year.
Burke County Emergency Services received a call at 4:25 p.m. on Monday that lightning had struck a person at 1814 Brown Mountain Beach Road, which is about 9 miles northwest of Morganton, according to Communications Manager Lisa Propst. An ambulance took the patient to Grace Hospital. He was later transported to Mission Memorial Hospital in Asheville.
WSOC Channel 9, a news partner of The News Herald, reported that person was 17 years old and was riding a dirt bike at the Off-Highway Vehicle Trail at Brown Mountain park.
2011 has proved an active year for lightning strikes in Burke County.
According to Burke Weather, the incident on Monday makes 13 people lightning has struck in the county this year.
Chris White, a Burke Weather meteorologist, said people should pay attention to weather alerts and avoid outdoor activities during storms.
“People do not realize that you can be struck by lightning when the storm is 15 miles away,” he said. “This time of year we get towering thunderstorms that are sometimes as high as 50,000 to 55,000 feet. There are rare times they go even higher than that. Lightning can come out of the top of a storm as a positive lightning strike and strike outside its rain parameter.”
White says receiving weather updates via phone or email is a good way to take appropriate precautions.
“If people are not near a computer or wireless device to receive alerts, as a lot of outdoor activities are going on this time of year, a great rule of thumb is the 30/30 rule,” he said. “If you can hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck by lightning. Wait 30 minutes from the last time you hear thunder to go outside and resume outdoor activities. Every time you hear thunder, restart the 30 minute clock. Public pools, theme parks, U.S. and N.C. Forest Service all use this practice.”
Lightning is a major issue for White as he was struck in 2008.
Besides the lightning strike, Independence Day was relatively uneventful for emergency personnel.
The N.C. State Highway Patrol had a below-average number of calls and wrecks from the holiday, according to Frist Sgt. Doug Amos.
Cecil Huffman of the Burke County Fire Marshall’s Office said there were no fireworks-related blazes on Monday night.
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