Man Hit By Lightning Near Temecula, Survives Without A Scratch

TEMECULA, CA — A Temecula-area resident is not only lucky to be alive, but lucky to have survived without any apparent physical injuries, after he was hit by lightning during a recent storm. Grant Steele of Sage was hit by lightning as he went outside to "batten down the hatches" on his truck, according to the Temecula Police Department.

Temecula police wrote about the incident on social media as a reminder to area residents to stay indoors during such weather events:

"Lightning storms are cool to watch since we don’t get them much out here," the police department said.
But aside from calming the kids and the pups down in the house, you also have to make sure no one heads outside to 'batten down the hatches' during the storm. Especially wearing a baseball hat with that tiny metal button we all forget about on the top of his hat."

It was that tiny metal button that apparently drew the lighting to Steele as he witnessed his truck get struck by a bolt right in front of him, "... which then skipped off his hat through the metal button," police said.

"He was taping up the window with plastic and that's when the lightning hit," his wife, Tara Steele, told Patch.

Steele, who is an electrician and knows a thing or two about getting shocked by an electric current, felt the current — but managed to walk back inside and tell his wife what had just happened.

When he took his baseball cap off, it was smoking.

"He said he felt it and he smelled it as it hit," Tara Steele said. "He just got lucky he had his rubber boots on."

Nearly 3,000 cloud-to-cloud lightning strikes were recorded in Riverside County during that storm, along with just over 1,000 cloud-to-ground strikes, according to the National Weather Service.

Fortunately, one of those strikes didn't cause any harm to Steele.

"He was completely unharmed," the Temecula Police Department said of the experience, while jokingly adding, "Except maybe for his pants."

As of Tuesday, Steele was still feeling fine following the ordeal. And he just bought some lottery tickets.

— Images courtesy: Tara Steele