Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Lightning destroys tree in Bellevue

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By TERRY SMITH
Express Staff Writer

Crews spent about two hours cleaning debris from city streets after a bolt of lightning shattered a large tree Sunday afternoon in Bellevue.

"It blew that tree in half. It blew rubble 400 feet," said Blaine County Sheriff's Lt. Jay Davis.

The lightning hit the tree near the intersection of Third and Pine streets about 4:15 p.m. The Bellevue Marshal's Office identified the homeowner as Jeff Vert.

"It split that tree up," said Marshal Ron Taylor. "It's only about 6 or 7 feet tall now."

The rest of the tree, branches, splinters and bark, were spread far and wide. Taylor said one branch broke the front window of Vert's Oldsmobile while another knocked down a neighbor's fence.

"It's still a mess," Taylor said Monday. "There's still people that have to clean it from their yards, but they got it cleaned off the roadway."

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Taylor said there were no injuries.

"I think it was an oak tree," he said.

Terry Smith: tsmith@mtexpress.com