Ennismore Woman Recounts Terrifying Lightning Strike On Camp Site

Tonya Kraan had a scary experience while camping at Silent Lake Provincial Park Friday night with family during the lightening storm that many in the Kawarthas experienced.

Tonya was in a tent when the camp site beside her took a direct hit.

She posted this photo below to Facebook showing where it hit: the light strip on the trunk is where the bark peeled off the tree after the strike and chunks hit the ground. "The tree is 1 foot from the trailer in the site beside us," Kraan says. "They had a fireball in their trailer but the fire didn't ignite."

Tonya Kraan (photo via Facebook)

In a prior Facebook post, she describes the damage done to trailers: "We were in tents. Split a tree and fireball went through their trailer. Shot through our site to the comfort station and knocked out the electrical on their water system. Then it shot over to a trailer on the other side of the station and blew their lights and electrical system. All vehicles in its path fried their electronics. Lots of tow trucks en route. Everyone is safe. No injuries. None of us slept a wink..... cant wait to get home and crawl into bed......"

Tonya tells PTBOCanada her tent was about 50 feet north of this tree pictured. They were on the site directly beside theirs...

Picture via Joe Kraan

"The flash was the scariest thing I've ever seen," Kraan adds. "I thought for sure it hit a foot from our tent. My arms were tingling for a minute or two. I was lying on the ground in my sleeping bag. Apparently lying down is the worst position when lightning strikes!!!"

Kraan says it's the worst and last camping trip she'll ever take. "I will never watch a lightning storm the same way again," she tells PTBOCanada.com. "When the strike happened, it felt like a direct hit. The heat and the shock felt like nothing I can really describe. It was like a million car lights coming on at the exact same time—the brightest light I have ever seen. I was lying down in my sleeping bag in our tent and my arms felt like pins and needles for about 15 minutes. I won't ever feel safe camping in a tent again, anywhere."

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat (ptbo_canada). Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here. Watch our PTBOCanada Love video here.