Another Home in the Villages Hit by Lightning
 

Another Home in the Villages Hit by Lightning. This time in Deluna during Friday night's storm.
There is an article this morning in the Villages News. There was no one home and by the time the fire was reported and the fire department got there it was too late. Although the interior is gutted at least the structure is mostly still standing, So, far 11 homes here in the Villages have been struck by lightning in the past 12 months. The highest number so far.

My good friend Mr Google says that 1 in 200 houses in the USA are struck by lightning each year.

If The Villages has 60,000 homes then one would expect on average 300 to be struck each year

Factor in that Florida has more lightning than most states...

I was going to post this Saturday but didn’t want to take the wind out of your sails.

But the pictures of the actual fire are impressive

& a majority of homes don't have protections, so is there a correlation between no protection and being significantly below the national average ?? :shrug:

:BigApplause::BigApplause:

correlation/causation/probability
lies/statistics/incomplete data

After the hurricane damage we had, adjuster was at our house in 3 days. Check in hand on day 19. Guessing it’s either current knowledge of insurance policy, or a good adjuster

Are there no lightning rods up?

Correlation is not and does not prove cause and effect.

We had damages to our home last year from lightning. It hit the outside cable box and the wires running into the house became so hot that the heat burned the vinyl siding. Even if we had protection nothing would have prevented our house from getting damaged. People who lived 2-3 blocks away described it as the loudest they ever heard.

I have to ask, how many homes have lightning protection in all of TV. I am sure there is an actual number not a guesstimate.

With close to 70,000 roof tops it would be good information. Plus how many of those home had lightning strikes after installing?

Of all the homes in The Villages that do NOT have lightning protection systems, how many of them have NOT been hit by lightning?

That doesn't make any difference. Lightning protection systems are not mandatory. These systems are for those who want to take the extra precaution against the wicked lightning which affects Florida. It's rather like boots in the rain, you can wear them or take a chance ruining your best pair of shoes. There appears to be much consternation about others who may elect a LPS, it their prerogative unless the Constitution changes.

Over 99.5%.

:MOJE_whot:

I missed the part in the Constitution where it guaranteed my right to install lightning rods.

I haven't seen any consternation about others who may elect a LPS but I have seen much criticism of those who elect against installing a LPS.

If rain is in the forecast:
- Will it rain at all?
- Will it rain at my house?
- If it rains at my house, will there be a puddle?
- If there is a puddle, will it be in my path?
- If it is in my path, will I not see it and step in it?
- If I step in it, will it ruin my shoes?

If all those are "yes" then I will be sorry I didn't wear the boots. However, a very large percentage of the time one of those will be "no" and the boots will not be needed.

I don't recall anyone criticizing the choice to wear boots.
Those wearing boots have criticized pull-on shoe covers as not boot-like enough.
Those wearing boots have shown the same ruined pair of shoes over and over again.

This area has a lot of puddles
There is an increased chance that your shoes will get wet
All the shoes that get wet will need to be dried
A few of the shoes that get wet will be ruined
If your shoes get ruined you'll wish you wore boots

I think it's to be expected when you have so many houses very close together with very few trees of any size.

Several have them but they also attract lightning

That’s the age old question. Do you have any information to back that up? Far as I know, it’s all hit or miss. Lightening goes wherever it’s at when the time comes. As there are houses with LPS that stand next to a house that does not have LPS, the non protected house gets hit, the LPS house does not. Weird, I know.

I live in DeLuna. There are quite a few homes here with an LPS, but of course the majority do not as in all villages. The storm was especially wicked that night (Saturday not Friday). Monday night we also had 5” of rain in less than two hours along with even more intense lightning than Saturday night. On Saturday night though we had not only that villa struck, but also a street sign at the entrance to one of the two for our veranda neighborhood knocked down with a strike and a water main broken at that spot too. Our veranda neighborhood lost water for awhile, with some of us getting it back sooner than others. It was truly the worst night of lightning we’ve had in our three summers here so far. The storm on Monday night filled our ponds to almost overflowing, and gave us some ponds where we normally only have them after a hurricane. It’s been a wild few days!

What insurance co?

The villages has approx 75k homes. 11 have been struck by lightning in the last 12 months. Chances are still VERY small that your home gets hit …..I hear this same chatter this time of the year that ya better order up some lightning rods……if ya got an extra $4k sitting around then order em up …… I’ll still take my chances without …….

Eleven have had enough damage to make the news. I wonder how many have been struck but didn't burn down and only required some new shingles.

Lightening is prevalent in Florida, so on rare occasion houses will be struck by lightening. Since there are over 60,000 homes in The Villages, spread over 200 square miles, it is statistically anticipatable that on VERY RARE OCCASION, a Villages home will be struck by lightening.

I don't know the answer to this question but I can say for sure A1 and Triangle Lightning protection, two of the companies installing system here in the Villages are always booked up many months out every year. The more strikes, resulting fires, and coverage in the news papers, the more people see the risk as real and the more get systems.

Attachment 109621To re-cap, if the storm conditions are right and your house has the highest ground charge, your home will be hit, no question. The only thing lightning rods do is when the strike occurs, they will have the highest charge on your home and the lightning will strike the rods and not your roof. When lightning strikes your roof 99.9% or the time it will blow a hole in your roof, starting a fire, and ricochet around your attic like a bullet destroying everything in it's path looking for earth ground. Lightning rods don't attract lightning, your neighbors rods or tall trees won't protect your home and everyone around you will get an induced power surge destroying their electronic devices if they don't have adequate surge protection.

Getting hit by lightning is a low probability but here in Central Florida, the lightning capital of the USA, the risk is still low but great enough to be aware. Remember, lightning is unpredictable so although it may only strike and destroy a small number of homes, you will never know it that one stike will hit your home and if it does you will have that life changing experience recovering from it. It all comes down to your tolerance for risk. If you have a high tolerance, then do nothing and take your chances. If you have a lower tolerance for risk then spend the $2,000-$3,000 for a system and sleep better at night. Either way, it's important to be Aware of the facts so you can make an informed decision that suits your specific tolerance for risk.

Again, these people decided to take their chances and did nothing.

I sure would like to see some data supporting that statement.

I am personally aware of three strikes that did NOT start fires.
(one hit my house while I was in the room, another left marks on the floor where my wife was standing, and the third required a lot of work convincing the insurance company that lightning does strike in central WA state)

More like 60 Square Miles, but I agree with your point.

Which is why I stated that fires occur 99.9% of the time. There was a home in Fenney last year hit but the rain was so intense, it put out the fire and there was minimal damage to the roof. Major damage to their electrical system though.

Also, many will say they were struck by lightning but in reality, they were not. What happeded was lightning struck near by their home and they got a Lightning Induced Power Surge. This is very common and happens almost every severe lightning storm we get. The home that got one in the Enclave the other night, no one will ever know about because there is no spectatular fire and nothing about it in the newspaper. I was told about it because the neighbor next store wanted information about a LPS and surge protection system after the hit.

Part 1 says "if your house has the highest ground charge during optimal conditions, your house will be the one the lightning will be attracted to most."
Part 2 says "these things that stick up higher than the peak of your house, making your house the highest ground charge, will not attract the lightning."

How is this so?

I'm sorry...but I also live in Deluna and I think there needs to be some clarification. Yes, the ponds were full during and right after the storm, but the pond drainage system works and a few hours later the ponds were back to their normal levels. The water retention areas that are dry outside of the rainy season have water. Everything worked exactly as it was supposed to.

Wow … that must be the effects of the new “gentle” lightning strikes. 😀 Stay Safe

Truthfully, I didn’t expect an answer.

My thoughts are if we were looking at 20,000 to 30,000+ installations that answer would’ve popped up.
However I understand both companies are busy installing are booked up several months advance. Which also may make the customer uncomfortable waiting, or look at other avenues.
It doesn’t really answer how many they are doing per day per week per month it’s just a question still no answer.

However since you run a club about lightning strikes. What are the stats of a house struck next to one with protection? How many house from the 12 houses struck was there a home protected?

How does one know if your rod was struck saving your house?

Our homes on coastal areas, have systems installed, (only 11 out of 800) but no house in the community has been struck. Even though there are great lightning storms as frequently as FL

I feel for you, I can see you are struggling..

If one isn't aware that the Constitution allows one the freedom to choose and live one's life as one sees fit, as long as one doesn't intrude on the rights of others, one now knows. If one hasn't witnessed the railing against the installation of an LPS in this thread, one may want to reread all posts considering that subject. And if the simplicity of wearing boots throws one off, there is no way they can handle such a thought of installing a LPS. It appears to me that some people don't want a LPS, which is fine, but are jealous of those who decide to take that extra step. Gee, another lightning strike in The Villages this week. Isn't lightning roulette fun?

You had a very good adjuster and company!

And that is lightning roulette, if the coastal areas of which you speak are in Florida. The LPS is for those who want the extra protection against a direct hit. I'm sure there are many people in Florida, who have lived all their lives here, and have never had their home struck by lightning. But I'm also sure their are Floridians here who had the extra protection of LPS and it saved their home. It comes down to whatever people decide they will be comfortable with in the end.

Hmmm, home struck by lightning three times and still not convinced some choosing LPS are making a sensible choice..

Because there are multiple things that make any part if your home have the highest charge and height is only one part. A common misconception is the highest point of the home is the best target. While mostly true, it also has to have the highest postitive charge during a storm as well. This is why a home may get hit although there are high trees around it.

My guess is these companies install several systems per day.

Out of the 11 homes struck and had fires in the past 12 months, none had a lightning protection system.

Many of the homes hit had neighbors with an LPS. Some across the street and some next door.

We do know of 17 homes that did get struck by lightning and did have a LPS sustained minimal or no damage and none had a fire.

If you have an LPS and your home is hit you would have to either witness the strike or hear the incredibly loud bang. This is why we don't get many reports that fall into this category.

Confirmation bias.

I didn't write that my home was struck by lightning three times, I wrote that I was personally aware of three lightning strikes that did not start fires. Three separate homes, only one owned by me, two states, and several years apart.

It is the fact that none of these three caused fires or serious damage to the home that drives me to question the statistics and fear being pushed by those who appear to have the phone numbers for the local LPS installers memorized.

Was one of your homes struck in Florida or Texas?

We're going to have to agree to disagree about the Constiitutionally-guaranteed right to a LPS but that's an issue for a different thread.

Provide just two posts from this thread that show anyone "railing against the installation of an LPS. Any two.

... or just one post that even hints at jealousy.