Storms brought heavy rain, thunder and lightning to areas of western Washington late Friday night into Saturday morning.
There were several reports of lightning causing trees to catch fire in Thurston County. Other residents reported downed trees and minor damage to homes near Lacey and Olympia.
One Lacey resident, Lorenzo Quintana, was woken up when lightning struck his house.
“The whole room lit up. I thought the whole bedroom had exploded,” he said. “It really scared me because having been to Vietnam, I thought I was being hit by a mortar in my bunker. That's the way it felt.”
Quintana was in good spirits, though, saying the lightning strike left him with a good story to tell. He hopes that, as the saying goes, lightning won’t strike in the same place twice.
The Lacey Fire Department said a tree on the banks of Long Lake near Mayes Road SE caught fire when it was hit by lightning. No one was injured, but the department said it's a good reminder for residents to stay clear from tall trees during thunderstorms.
According to the National Weather Service, over 2,800 lighting strikes occurred across Washington State in just 24 hours.
Heavy rain caused several mudslides closing sections of SR 410 in Mount Rainier National Park. Crews worked most of Saturday to get the roadway back open.