Lightning strike creates trench in Foxboro yard

FOXBORO, Mass. (WHDH) -- A family in Foxboro says a lightning strike dug a 25-foot trench that stretches from a shed to their house.

Firefighters said lightning hit the tree and it imploded, which sent chunks of wood that ripped down parts of a large fence and impaled a portion of the deck. The electricity blasted apart the wood stairs and blew off the gutters around the house.

“It impacted the tree -- it imploded the tree completely…Got in contact with the aluminum siding and aluminum trim and energized the house,” said Chief Roger Hatfield of the Foxboro Police Department.

The 74-year-old homeowner was rushed to the hospital with chest pains. She is being monitored at a hospital, but her family said she should be okay.

Her four sons and the rest of the family looked over the damage -- what was once a beautifully manicured yard that was maintained by her landscaper son now looks like the start of an excavation site.

“It was immaculate -- they wanted to know why we dug a trench in the yard, but we didn’t dig that. That’s all from the lightning,” said Rick Dorr, whose family home was hit by lightning.