Observe the wrath that lightning wrought on this Calgary home - Action News
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Calgary

Observe the wrath that lightning wrought on this Calgary home

A bolt of lightningstruck the roof of a bungalowin University Heights this week, blowing out the windows and frying the electrical system.

Simon Corrin's bungalow in University Heights was set on fire by a bolt of lightning

(Paul Karchut/CBC)

When Simon Corrin woke up to hear four voicemails including one from the Calgary Fire Department asking if his bungalow that he rents out had been hit by lightning, he thought he was getting pranked.

"I thought it was very strange for a solicitor to say that my house got struck by lightning," Corrin told theCalgary Eyeopener's Paul Karchut.

But that's exactly what happened.

A bolt of lightningstruck the roof of his bungalowin University Heights and set the home on fire early Monday morning.

(Paul Karchut/CBC)

"Why it struck this and not that, nobody really knows. Nobody has a good answer. So I guess it's from Mother Nature, or powers beyond us,"Corrin said.

Thelightning strikeblew out the windows, scorched the ceiling beamsand fried all the wiring.

"With the fire damage, with the smoke damage, with the water damage, it's going to get gutted to studs.So at that point, does it make sense to fix it or just rebuild it?" Corrin wondered.

You can reach your own conclusions from the photos below.

This is where the lightning struck.

(Paul Karchut/CBC)

'You can really smell it,' said Corrin.

(Paul Karchut/CBC)

'It went right through the house, probably 50, 60 feet overand popped the nails out of the neighbour's walls and also knocked pictures off the walls,' Corrin said.

(Paul Karchut/CBC)

'For it to go through wallsand actually blow the glass out of bedrooms, you know it'spretty crazy.'

(Paul Karchut/CBC)

'Every wire in the house needs to be replaced, because even in the basement, the plugs have fused.'

(Paul Karchut/CBC)

This evergreen behind the house wasn't leaning before the lightning strike. 'And there's grass and sod up on the roof from where the ground exploded upwards,' said Corrin.

(Paul Karchut/CBC)

With files from Paul Karchut andthe Calgary Eyeopener.