A family camping in Tulare County, California met with an unfortunate turn of events on their camping trip when the father and his two children were struck by lightning.
CBS San Francisco reports that Chris Lovera, 51, and his two children, Aiden, 12, and Nadia, 9, were huddled under a tree during a storm two weeks ago on a backpacking trip through the Sequoia National Forest when they were struck.
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Lovera had just started recording footage on his smartphone during the time a nearby tree was struck, catching them in the electricity current.
Across the lake, Akiko Barton was filming thunderstorm and captured terrifying lightning strike. Her husband, Nick heard the bang and saw the flash of light, telling her he would “have to go help them,” as he noticed they “fell into the water.”
The Northern California father tells CBS News that he and his kids don’t remember anything after that strike, adding that the three were waking up to a different scene.
“Both of them saw me in this state where they thought I was gone,” Lovera said.
While their burn marks have been healing, Lovera suffered the brunt of the injuries with his clothes burned to his body. He and his son, Aiden are also suffering hearing loss.
The father of two says he will be forever grateful to the off-duty firefighter and others who saw what happened and saved his family.
According to the National Weather Service, the chances of being struck by lightning are 1 in 13,500.
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