READING & EXETER TOWNSHIP, Pa.- Strong storms with lots of thunder and lightning swept through Berks County on Tuesday evening.
“It’s the worst I’ve ever seen around here,” says Hector Ortiz, who lives in Reading. He was inside his home when he heard a tremendous noise.
“I heard this loud explosion,” says Ortiz.
“When I looked out, I saw people standing and saying it hit the chimney,” he explained.
Ortiz says lightning struck the neighbor’s chimney, sending pieces of it flying. The exact moment was caught on his security camera.
“There was a flash, it hit the chimney, and that was it,” he said.
Thankfully, the neighbor was okay, and Ortiz says the damage wasn’t too bad. However, he says the experience was shocking for folks in the neighborhood.
During the same storm in Exeter Township, firefighters responded to the report of a lightning strike on Wegman Road.
“The lightning hit the tree, went down into the ground and actually blew apart the occupant’s driveway,” says Chief Chris Jordan of the Exeter Township Volunteer Fire Dept.
“[It] also blew apart their grass and went into the residence and had some damage inside the residence, where it blew out electrical outlets and also took out their water pump,” Jordan said.
The chief says it was a very unusual call, and conditions during the response time were somewhat hazardous, with pooling on roads and continued lightning.
“We’re not used to seeing something like that,” says Jordan.
“The firefighters from Exeter, Oley, and Lower Alsace controlled the situation quickly, and the resident was safe,” he added.