Too close for comfort

POST FALLS — The Monday afternoon thunderstorms that rolled through the Inland Northwest gave at least one Post Falls resident quite the shock.

Christa Noonan, who lives in a neighborhood west of Highway 41 and north of Interstate 90, had just looked out the window to watch the meteorological excitement when a bolt of lightning struck an old, deciduous tree just 50 yards from her.

"It scared the crud out of me," Noonan said Tuesday. "The tree split, bark blew off it, the lightning shot through the roots and it shot some of the roots up through the ground."

Noonan, who worked in search and rescue for seven years, was accompanied by her search and rescue dog when it happened.

"She's been through some crazy storms — and that scared me and it scared her," Noonan said. "I’m pretty sure the tree is going to die. It was a pretty big bolt."

Originally from western Washington, Noonan said she is used to crazy weather.

"To me, it was just lightning," she said. "This was the first time this has ever happened. It was loud. It was like a boom."

When the storm cleared and the sun reappeared, Noonan ventured into the neighborhood to inspect the damage.

"You could see the bark was across the road like it shot out," she said. "You look at the tree, you can see where the trunk split. The science behind it is when lightning strikes a tree it expands the water in the tree trunk and the pressure is why the tree trunk exploded. That water will vaporize within the tree."

Noonan said she usually loves storms.

"But not when they strike near me," she said. "There’s something about plasma shooting through the sky that does not sit well with me."