All in a day's work
It was Aug. 8, 2008, in high-altitude Evergreen, Colo., and Mike Speck was in a hurry because — at 8:08 that evening — he was going to be married. Speck, a 54-year-old contractor, was filling a camper with water and didn’t notice the black clouds building above him, until, wham! Lightning struck, the charge going through his finger, arm and stomach, and igniting the attic of a nearby house. Speck, miraculously unhurt, immediately grabbed a hose, and with the help of a friend, doused the blaze and saved the house. In all, five homes caught fire from what people assume was one lightning bolt that spread through power lines. Paramedics say Speck’s blood pressure surged to a dangerous 250 over 180 after the lightning hit him, but the groom-to-be refused to go to a hospital. By evening, he was ready for his wedding to Dawn Williams. “It rained,” reports the Canyon Courier, “but when it was time for the wedding march, the sun came out just as the Beatles song, ‘Here Comes the Sun,’ started to play.”
High Country News in your inbox!