Lightning Strike Closes Greentree Road

A lightning strike on Greentree Road closed the major Scott Township roadway for about an hour Tuesday afternoon.

WPXI-TV reported that shortly after the strike, Scott Township police Chief Jim Secreet ran onto Greentree Road, frantically waving his arms trying to stop passing cars from driving over the fallen power lines.

The live wires suddenly sparked with Secreet nearby, causing him to run from the intersection and away from danger.

“Whether water hit it or not, something made it arc again and the loud vibration told me it was a very powerful voltage,” Secreet said to WPXI-TV. “I’ve never seen voltage come out of a line like that in 30 years of police work. Never, anything like that, it was definitely the loudest wire I’ve ever heard.”

and firefighters were forced to close Greentree Road at the intersection with Lindsay Road after the power line fell shortly after 1 p.m. The wires were still arcing for several minutes, police said, and emergency crews detoured motorists to keep them away from the area.

Duquesne Light crews worked throughout the afternoon to restore power to . By 4 p.m. Tuesday, Duquesne Light officials said they were still working to restore power for 12,000 customers in their coverage area.

closed early for the day due to the power outage after lightning strike.

A power outage at the red light at Greentree and Old Washington roads also caused some back-ups in the area. The outages and roadblocks caused heavy traffic on Route 50 through Heidelberg.

Did you experience any damage or power outages due to Tuesday's storm? Tell us in the comments.

This article first appeared on Chartiers Valley Patch.