Woman, 2 Dogs Killed By Lightning Strike In LA County: Report

LOS ANGELES, CA — A woman and two dogs were fatally struck by lightning in Pico Rivera during a summer thunderstorm, authorities said.

The lightning strike in Pico Rivera occurred around 8:50 a.m. when the woman was walking along the San Gabriel River, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The woman and her dogs both died at the scene.

"There's a one-in-a-million chance of something like this happening, and it happened," Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Patrick Morey told the Los Angeles Times.

According to the county fire department, the woman was struck near Mines and Rimbank avenues.

It was a tragic turn in morning peppered by scattered thunderstorms that made for a damp morning commute in some areas, sparked at least one small brush fire and caused lighting strikes that forced temporary closures of Orange County beaches in Newport Beach and Laguna Beach.

All beaches in Long Beach were closed late Wednesday morning due to a "significant lightning strike within the breakwall," according to the city Fire Department.

Read more from Fox 11: Woman, 2 dogs struck and killed by lightning in Pico Rivera, city manager says

The city of Pico Rivera shut down all outdoor activities, including camp field trips, pool day trips, farmers markets, recreation on natural turf fields and more amid the storm, the city tweeted.

The strong storm developed early Wednesday morning over the Southland, prompting the National Weather Service to warn of potentially gusty winds, lightning and even hail in parts of the San Gabriel Valley.

Such conditions never fully developed, but select areas in the San Gabriel Valley got a dousing of rain and a dose of lightning.

"There have been numerous lightning strikes," according to the weather service. "This pattern will largely stay in place until evening, as the upper low slowly moves to the northeast."

There were scattered reports of power outages around the Southland as the morning continued, and isolated storms erupted. At least one small brush fire in the Sunland area was believed to have been sparked by a lightning strike.

The weather service reported lightning strikes and thunderstorms Wednesday morning over Mount Wilson, with the system moving northwest covering Monrovia, Angeles Crest Highway between Mount Wilson and Mount Waterman, Sierra Madre, Arcadia and Duarte. The weather service recorded wind gusts up to 51 mph on Mount Wilson, and up to 66 mph in the Lake Hughes area.

By daybreak, forecasters said the eastern portion of the county had been "overrun" with showers and thunderstorms. Most areas that received showers saw relatively low rainfall totals, generally less than a quarter of an inch, but forecasters warned of potentially higher amounts in select areas. One area in the San Gabriel Mountains received just under an inch as of midmorning.

The main stormfront over Los Angeles County stretched from Long Beach through the Antelope Valley, with isolated storm cells developing and dissipating along the front, dropping roughly a quarter-inch of rain at a time and even dropping some small hail, the weather service said.

City News Service contributed to this report.