Lightning Blast Hit Man In Patapsco Valley State Park: Official

A man was struck by a lightning blast in Patapsco Valley State Park on the Fourth of July, according to authorities. Based on preliminary information, officials said he suffered what could have been serious injuries and was hospitalized.

The man was hiking with a group of people in the Woodstock area Thursday afternoon when "they saw the flash, and there was a large burn mark on the tree [that the lightning hit]," firefighter Adam Nolder, spokesman for the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services, said.

Crews from Baltimore and Howard counties responded to the 911 call at 1:45 p.m. on Thursday, July 4, that a hiker was possibly struck by lightning.

The victim "was unconscious at one point before we got to him," Nolder told Patch. "But by the time we got to him, he was alert."

Initially, Nolder said the call went to Baltimore County emergency officials, but it was transferred to Howard County because of the ZIP code, which was traced to Woodstock.

When he was located, the hiker was in a wooded area of the park in "rough terrain," Baltimore County fire officials said, reporting crews from Howard and Baltimore counties got him out before 2:40 p.m.

First responders used ATVs to reach the hiker, Nolder said, then Howard County emergency medical services personnel transported him by ambulance to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.

The hiker was conscious the whole time, Nolder reported, and taking him to shock trauma was a measure that was precautionary to ensure he was OK.

People can be injured by being hit directly or by receiving the lightning's current indirectly.

The man in Patapsco Valley State Park was likely hit by a "shock wave," Nolder said. "He may have had some internal injuries as a result of that" that were not visible, he explained.

Ruptured eardrums or blunt trauma from being thrown or falling can follow a lightning blast, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports. It can also result in cardiac arrest and may be fatal.

"That shock wave could rip your aorta, as it travels through and around your body," Nolder said, explaining that lightning courses through the body like any other inanimate object.

In general, it is unlikely for a lightning strike to result in death. Over the past decade, an average of 27 people have died each year from lightning strikes, the National Weather Service reports.

Afternoon and evening hours in July are the times people most frequently get hit by lightning, according to the CDC, which says it's five times more likely for a lightning strike victim to be male. Most people hit by lightning are 15 to 34 years old and regularly participate in recreation or work outside, according to the agency.

Being hit by lightning remains a rare occurrence. The odds of being struck by lightning in one's lifetime are 1 in 15,300, according to the National Weather Service, which recalculates the odds annually. The odds of being struck by lightning in a given year are closer to one in 1.2 million.

"It's about as freak an accident as you can have with a lighting strike," Nolder said, when asked whether he had any suggestions for lightning safety. "But it's important to know...the catch phrase 'when thunder roars, go indoors.'"

INITIAL REPORT: Someone may have been struck by lightning in Patapsco Valley State Park, according to the Baltimore County Fire Department. The man suffered serious injuries and was taken to the hospital by Howard County emergency medical crews, officials said.

First responders from Howard and Baltimore counties worked to get the man out of a wooded spot before 2:40 p.m. on Thursday, July 4.

Fire officials said the man was in the Woodstock area in a location with rough terrain.

Baltimore and Howard counties are under a flash flood watch until 8 p.m. Thursday, July 4, calling for the possibility of torrential rains and slow-moving storms. The National Weather Service also issued a hazardous weather outlook due to the potential for the scattered thunderstorms with damaging wind gusts.