[villagetinker]

I worked in the electric utility field, there is a 'shield' effect from the highest point, think of a cone about 30 degrees wide from the highest point to the ground. The area under this cone tends to be shielded from a direct strike. This is why you see ONE overhead ground wire on many electric utility high voltage lines, this wire protects the wires below. A neighbor's house would NOT be high enough to protect your house, however, the very pointed rods may attract the lightning to that location. We actually used devices that resembled large fuzzy balls at some locations to dissipate the charge and avoid a direct strike, NO idea if these actually worked.