Regina's Harbour Landing condos shocked by lightning strike

Thunderstorms have been teasing Regina lately and nowhere was that more evident than at a pair of Harbour Landing condo buildings earlier this week.

Regina Fire & Protective Services had to be called to Universal Crescent to the Fontaine Bleu condos Tuesday afternoon around 3 p.m. because of an electrical malfunction. The cause is believed to be a lightning strike near the buildings or a power surge.

As far as those who live in the condos is concerned, there’s no doubt one of the buildings was actually hit. Carol Perkins was on her top-floor suite talking on the phone and looking out her window when she felt what she described as a “big crash” of lightning.

“It almost pushed me back, almost as if I felt it go right through my house,” she explained. “I’ve never felt like that before.”

Even in the middle of the afternoon, Perkins insisted her place was lit up.

One floor below, Joyce Milton was sitting on her couch reading the newspaper when the incident occurred.

“All of a sudden I heard this tremendous crack and I thought OK, that sounded like thunder and then all of a sudden I see what appears to be something just kind of go through my living room window right out my dining room window and I thought oh no, what was that?”

“It just came out of nowhere,” she insisted.

The incident set off the fire alarms, prompting the fire department to respond. The alarm system was still experiencing problems hours later. Some people reported malfunctions with their appliances and some even had their digital television boxes blown out.

Thankfully nobody was hurt, but Perkins was shaken.

“I am scared. Like I don’t like lightning anyhow and now I don’t think I’d ever be in front of my window again,” she said the next time the sky takes a dark turn.

Nobody can say with absolute certainty if the condominiums were directly hit or if lightning first hit a nearby structure, such as a garbage bin, before somehow deflecting onto the building.

For Milton, she realizes it’s just all part of summer in Saskatchewan.

“To me it’s just nature and I don’t even think about it. It’s not something that concerns me or worries me. I just accept it.”

KMartel@rawlco.com
Follow on Twitter: @KevinMartel