August 25, 2008

Lightning strikes Lily Pond

Recently, I showed you photos of a white pine that was struck by lightning at my farm in Bedford. Well, a couple of weeks ago, a very frightening thunder and lightning storm settled over the Hamptons, out on Long Island, New York, lasting nearly two hours. There was much flooding and widespread damage, and wouldn't you know it –- my home on Lily Pond Lane in East Hampton suffered a blow from a powerful bolt of lightning.

In addition to structural damage, the electronic driveway gate was burned out, the sprinkler system control panel was fried along with my stereo system, and the burglar/fire alarm and cable/internet were also struck. Thank goodness for a comprehensive home insurance policy. And I'm just so grateful that the house didn't catch on fire, which would have caused much more major damage and heartbreak.
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The powerful lightning struck the peak of my house, causing considerable damage.
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Another view showing the damage. The strike was so powerful it tore the shingles right down to the beams!
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Pieces of the house were scattered about; this is a section of the fascia board.
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More debris.
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My rather costly stereo was destroyed!
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  • Hi Martha, OMG, I'm so thankful you and the dogs weren't in the house. This certainly gives you an example of the powerful force of a lightning bolt. I,too, am glad that it didn't start a fire. At least the damages can be repaired, but a fire....OMG. I will cross my fingers and hope there aren't any more lightning strikes coming your way. Hope you have a great week. Hug all of your babies for me. Take care. Jan

  • What a scarey happening!!! Glad no one was hurt. Hope all is well with you Martha!

  • Changes of climate are here. In Poland we didn't have twisters before... we have them now too...

  • Oh, no! That's awfull! But I'm glad nobody got hurt! Take care!

  • A tornado recently hit my parents home. I feel your pain!

  • Thankfully no people or animals were injured Martha! I wish more people would become in awe of the raw power of thunder and lightening storms. So many people are still killed every year by lightening because they made poor choices in ignoring or dealing with these storms. I don't think a lot of people know not to use most electrical stuff during a storm or they could easily be electrocuted. Thanks for reminding people lightening strikes can travel through electrical systems!
    PS
    Hope you have a new Chow puppy now!

  • Martha - what is it with you and lightning??? Thank God no one was hurt.

  • My goodness!! And the stereo too:( Man, you can't even sit outside and watch a good storm can you....not with that kind of lightning!

    Stay safe

  • My goodness!! And the stereo too:( Man, you can't even sit outside and watch a good storm can you....not with that kind of lightning!

    Stay safe

  • My goodness!! And the stereo too:( Man, you can't even sit outside and watch a good storm can you....not with that kind of lightning!

    Stay safe

  • My goodness!! And the stereo too:( Man, you can't even sit outside and watch a good storm can you....not with that kind of lightning!

    Stay safe

  • My goodness!! And the stereo too:( Man, you can't even sit outside and watch a good storm can you....not with that kind of lightning!

    Stay safe

  • My goodness!! And the stereo too:( Man, you can't even sit outside and watch a good storm can you....not with that kind of lightning!

    Stay safe

  • My goodness!! And the stereo too:( Man, you can't even sit outside and watch a good storm can you....not with that kind of lightning!

    Stay safe

  • WOW! How frightening. Like everyone else I'm glad you and the animals weren't hurt. It is a very scary thought that this can happen. Thanks for this post; it may be a warning to us all. Hope you have a restful couple of weeks before the Big show Sept. 15th, can't wait!Nan

  • I WAS RAISED ON A FARM IN SOUTHEASTERN NORTH CAROLINA. BACK THEN WE HAD "LIGHTING RODS" ON ALL THE BUILDINGS AND HOUSES. WE HAVE TERRIBLE LIGHTING STORMS, BUT I DON'T REMEMBER EVER HAVING THAT KIND OF DAMAGE ON A BUILDING. MY NEIGHBOR HAD TWO TALL PINE TREES ON EITHER END OF HER HOUSE AND LIGHTING WOULD RUN IN WE THOUGHT ON THOSE TREES AND GET STOVES, TV'S, ETC. PEOPLE WOULD SAY THE LIGHTING RODS DID NO GOOD, BUT I WILL ALWAYS FEEL THAT THEY DID PROTECT US.

  • Oh wow - you are really lucky the house didn't go up in flames. And a fire that starts near the roof means the water to put it out ends up in your basement... through the walls. I wonder if this is what lightning rods are for.(?) And if anyone can find good looking lightning rods, it's you MS.

  • Hi Martha,

    I'm glad no one was hurt and that your house didn't suffer too badly. Will you be unplugging your electronics from now on before you leave? I remember being in our family room during a big storm and although the TV and VHS recorder were both off, lightning came through the cable wire and straight to the recorder. It was the scariest thing to be in the room when it blew out that recorder! Now when there's a storm, I turn off all the power strips. Hey, I can't watch your show if my TVs are all blown out! The roof can blow off but don’t mess with my TVs. See you on the 15th. Trish

  • Wow! This must have been a scary experience. I'm sorry you had to go through it 🙁

  • Martha, what a bad strain of luck? wow, well again I am glad you are ok and at least "things" can be replaced...Thank goodness for insurance! 🙂

  • Yes, a comprehensive insurance policy is nice. Sometimes it is rather the chance one has to take. Livestock people can suffer a loss of many animals standing under a tree or on a hill, they can also suffer thousands of acres of lost feed from a lightning started fire. Those things are a grin and bear it situation. I appreciate your blog showing what happened to you.

  • Glad everything is ok...but I can't believe the state of your cord management behind the stereo...very unMartha of you!

  • You've been unlucky with lightning this summer, Martha. But, yes, thank goodness there wasn't a fire!

    Time to install a lightning rod?

    -Andrew

  • A whole house surge protector is a good thing to have installed on your electrical panel. It probably would have saved mot of the electronic gear. We had one added when the panel was upgraded when the kitchen and baths were remodeled. The design firm thought it was such a valuable thing they now install them on all their projects.

  • Consider a surge protector at entry to the facility (where the electric comes in to the structure). In DC we get a lot of thunder storms along the Potomac and this has been huge for my comfort level. Some power companies will provide, some won't, but worth checking.

  • i hope all is well. so sorry to heAR ABOUT YOUR HOUSE......

  • Hi Martha and Laura,

    Wow! What weather! Yes, skirting any and all heart break is a 'Hoover Dam' good thing!

    Likewise, here, Florida is 100% accessible by air-boat! But I, too, am looking at the good side of the thing...I'm alive, I have electric and plumbing (for now anyway) and my animals are good and even right now it's sunny. More to come though...no one should let their guard down.

    Oh, the garden...underwater, as well as the drive way, and 2 more developments in the tropics. We don't want them coming this way until water reseeds here enough to handle any type of storm surge. Fay was a warning shot...a little tropical foreplay...frankly, I think she was already pregnant and her water broke!

    Thanks for keeping us so well informed about your weather damage, and here's to hearts not broken!

    Tina

  • Did you have your acorn on your window sill?

  • Martha~ As you can see, we are all so relieved that no one was hurt! But I can't imagine how scary it must be for you! At least your property can be repaired. You seem to be quite the "lightening - attractor!" Yikes.

    As for the post above me from Stephanie - could someone explain an acorn on the window sill? Is that a good thing or not? I'm not sure which way to understand that, but I'm fascinated to know.

    Thanks.

  • Mother Nature sure gets her way, sometimes, doesn't she?!! She is definitely a force to fear reverently!

    As I'm scrolling down your photos, my face is all crunched up, viewing and reading about all your damages. Out of my mouth came an occasional "oh noooooo"!! It WAS fortunate that no fire was caused...I know that our homes and our worldly goods are God-given, and we're just the stewards of them all, but the memories that happen within those walls we call home - well, there's just no replacement value on things of that magnitude!

    I'm glad that things, for the most part, are okay at Lily Pond and can be fixed or replaced fairly readily!

    =^..^=

  • Martha so sorry about all the damage to your beautiful home. Like everyone so glad you and the dogs were not there. I think Lilly Pond is the most beautiful residence of course I love the beautiful blue green trim. I remember when you had it on the cover of the magazine and had a regular living room on your front porch and all the roses you planted. Stephanie I am going to go right now and get an acorn out of my yard and put on my window sill. I had never heard that before but I have heard that lightning will not strike an oak tree.

  • Hi Martha:
    I am glad no one got hurt. The dogs weren't there (I am guessing) so I am glad of that. It was a terrible event. Maybe there is something you can do to help prevent it from happening again. I am sorry that your beautiful home was so damaged and all your equipment. Maybe advice from an electrician on how to protect your electronic equipment can help you in the future.

    Linda
    Phila., PA

  • I am like a couple of your viewers, we had a whole house surge protection put on, because where we are at, we get a lot of electrical storms that can cause a lot of damage. House can be fixed and everyone is safe glad to hear that.
    Loving Thoughts Patricia Stout

  • Back in July a local radio show interviewed the author Martin Uman, a university of Florida electrical engineering Professor, the subject his book ---The Art and Science of Lightning Protection. perhaps this book and articles regarding this subject may be found on the internet but this man and his research may prove beneficial to all.

  • What a scare! Good thing nobody was hurt. Thankfully, you can have the damage repaired, but still, what a shame. How strange that this is the second time so soon to have lightening damage. It's very frightening what damage a storm can do. Were your trees at the farm able to be saved, or did you have to have them taken down?

  • Thank goodness no one was hurt and the house was spared serious damage!!

  • I'm so sorry to read about this! YIKES! I have to admit my 1st thought was when "our lily pond" was hit last year! .it's a koi pond and we lost 6 very very loved -huge koi :O(
    I'm just so glad after looking at your pic that you or your housekeeping staff, animals were not harmed! Remember everything else can be replaced :O)

  • Martha,
    So sorry about the lightening damage to your beautiful home. I share my sentiments with the others that you and your pets weren't hurt.
    Power strips do not protect computers, stereos, televisions unless you UNPLUG them! Lightening can still travel through plugged ones even if they are turned off.
    Okay I am putting an acorn on my window sil....sounds like double insurance protection to me! ;-0 Things can be replaced...glad the house didn't have huge damage.
    God Bless and looking forward to Sept. 15th!
    Paula 🙂

  • MARTHA: IF YOU TIE A KNOT IN THE CORDS OF YOUR ELECTRONICS,WHEN HIT BY LIGHTING THE CORD WILLBURN NOT THE ELECTRONICES.
    NORMA KIER

  • In Galveston Co. Texas, Aug.21, 2008, my home was struck by lightning. Slightly overcast skies, no rain or tell-tell thunder rumble, a true "bolt out of the blue" hit with a deafing boom and bright flash of light. Instinct made me grab my grandchildren and flee to the other end of the house. We had no idea what had happened. Common sense returned to my frightened, befuddled brain and I began an ivestigation. Odors of wood burning, electronic fire, rotten eggs, plus the room filled with whirls of smoke made the situation even more frightning. The rains began and I noticed the leak in the roof. The fire was put out by the rain. The lightning had punched a dinner plate sized hole in the roof, shattering a 2x4 which rained splinters with such force they embedded in my arm and legs. I had been sitting right under the blast area watching the PBS channel with my grandchildren. They were on the couch farther from the blast and unharmed; other than being totally terrified. Electronic devices throughout the house were damaged, but they can be replaced. It could have been so much worse, and I praise God everyday for sparing us the worst scenario an event like this could have caused. I will add a prayer of thanks that you were not harmed as well during your ordeal.

  • Hi, Martha,
    I'm happy to hear no one was injured, and that you did not have a fire.
    My aunt and uncle were watching television one evening when a lightning bolt struck their house. It put a dinner plate size hole in the living room wall and blew up the television set in that room as well as damaging a radio in the kitchen.
    When I was younger, lightning damaged two ash trees in the yard; they each split in two. My Dad was milking cows in the barn, and a fireball rolled down the milking parlor just behind where he and the cows stood and I sat. Luckily, it did not hit anyone or start a fire. What power!
    Kathy

  • Oh my goodness.. my in-loves car was zapped by lightning and totaled ( my poor father in love is an electrician too)... their whole electrical unit was fizzled out!! Such scary stuff!!

  • Oh, My Gosh, Maratha I didn't realize lightening could do so much damage. Glad everyone is ok. I do not think there is anything out there that can really help with lightening doing damage to property. We are helpless to the act of God.

  • It is amazing how much you can be disturbed by damage to your home, house, property.
    Thank goodness it was not much worse!

  • please, please help me.
    i am from israel and i watch your show every day and i love it very much.
    on one of your shows you mantioned paper called decaclamania.
    i did not find it in israel and i would like to know where can i order it?
    thank you very much
    "the desperate"
    hanit

  • Hi Martha
    I also live in Bedford and remember having such terrible storms these past few years. I think it was 2 years ago.. maybe less, driving up the Saw Mill Pkwy. all those trees had fallen on both sides of the highway. How upseting! My husband has been in the tree care business for over 20 years. He had never seen anything like that in his life, although his business was overwhelmed with tree work/damage. He was seriously depressed, this is not the way he likes to get his business. (he is a very ethical human being) I'm sorry for the damage done to your home and my point of the story is that it is very important to have your local arborist walk through your property (estimates are FREE) and listen to them. They know when trees are rotting inside so badly that they have cavities as big as the tree itself. Imagine the tree falling on a moving vehicle, or a house with family and pets inside?

    I love you Martha and thank you for being such an inspiration to all women!!!

  • Wow...you know what U R SOOOOO LUCKY ....I am sure you will find sum way to incorporate the DEBRIS in to some fantastic piece of decor....RELAX...have a cup of tea....U R MARTHA STEWART...U ALLWAYZ come out on TOP!!...keep up the good work woman ...U R A TRUE INSPIRATION TO ME ...FOR REAL

  • Great pictures. I love the look and feel of this house and the yard. I am currently trying to get some design ideas for the pond im working on building. Thanks for the ideas!