We often get called into properties where unusual events occur related to lightning. There are some properties where the lightning is striking somewhere away from the home. Trees are often the unfortunate victims of lightning. In forested regions lightning can strike a tree far away from a home and depending on the voltage generated by the strike, it can be enough of a force to impact the home. We have seen lightning create trenches from the roots of the tree over to the house! It almost looks like the old Looney Tunes cartoons when Bugs Bunny would dig underground.

On some of these properties we are called in to do some supplemental work. Supplemental grounding, some additional surge protection, putting lightning in trees. I recall protecting a beautiful 200 year old beech tree in Greenwich, CT that had been in a family for generations. Lightning protection doesn’t have to stop at just putting a lightning rod system in a house. Some properties benefit greatly from some supplemental work that doesn’t have to get too costly. Another example is if you have a ham radio antenna, fixed solar panels that are far away from the building, a boat launch that is all metal framed. Lightning is always looking for a ground, the path of least resistance. Our goal is to always create a situation where we tell the lightning “don’t go there, go here”.

So if you already have a lightning rod system on your building and you are in one of the more unique situations where you think there are elements still vulnerable – we are still here for you! Every property is different. And we are always willing to give every client as much attention as they feel they need.