VIDEO: The Augustus family wasnโt home when a lightning bolt struck their front yard, igniting a 15-foot-evergreen tree. An intense storm rolled over Northern Utah County, Wednesday afternoon, bringing heavy rains and crashes of thunder. โAll of us jumped back.ย I admit I stepped further into the garage, not knowing if another bolt of lightning was going to hit,โ William Thresher said.
Thresher owns Thresher Piano Movers.ย He was on a job moving a large safe, two houses over, when lightning struck. โUsually, you can count one-1,000, two-1,000 after lightning strikes, and you count your way up to the thunder.ย But they both happened at the same time,โ Thresher said. โIt was so loud. ย I looked outside the garage, and the neighborโs tree was full of flames.โ
Witnesses said smoke filled the air and almost blocked the Augustusโ home completely. Neighbors called 911 and alerted Augustus to the problem. He was working out of state in Colorado when the texts hit his phone. โHopefully itโs not my house!! Thatโs what was going through my mind. When you see something like that, you just never know how devastating it could become. A couple of minutes can make a big difference,โ Augustus said.
In those crucial moments, a teenage neighbor ran to get a hose from Augustusโ backyard. That teenage boy quickly got the hose into Thresherโs hands and turned on the water. โIt was unbelievable how quickly the flames spread by the time I actually got the hose on the tree,โ Thresher said. โIt was crazy! These homes in Cedar Hills sit on 1/10th of an acre. They are very close to each other. How many other lives would that have impacted if this home had started on fire and spread to others?โ
The Augustus family expressed sincere gratitude for those who rushed to action to put the fire out.
