Lightning strikes during thunderstorm

A sudden thunderstorm swept across campus on the morning of Sept. 5, rattling offices and resulting in lightning strikes to at least two trees. One strike caused minor bark damage to a tree near parking lot 5 before rupturing a nearby irrigation line. The second strike resulted in a shower of bark debris outside the Sedgewick building when it hit the trunk of a Douglas Fir tree on the west side. The tree will be removed by an arborist for safety reasons.

Some alarms in Sedgewick and other campus buildings sounded during the storm, which began about 8:30 a.m. Services had been checked and restored by Campus Security and Facilities Management staff by late morning.