Lightning strike injures group during bridal photo shoot in the mountains

MCDOWELL COUNTY, N.C. — A bridal photo shoot Friday on Roan Mountain ended in chaos when a group was injured by a lightning strike during a sudden thunderstorm.

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The group, including Brianna Pendley and her son Landry, was taking photos at the from Carvers Gap on Roan Mountain near the Tennessee line when a storm with hail forced them to seek shelter under a stand of trees.

“We were there and we were huddled together looking at each other and kinda laughing about what was going on because the weather was nice five minutes before. And it was like a millisecond and we were on the ground screaming, said Pendley, photographer.

Brianna Pendley shared that the lightning struck a nearby tree and she believes it traveled through the roots, knocking them to the ground.

“No warning,” she said. “There was no thunder.”

Pendley, along with her son, the bride, and a friend, had checked the weather beforehand, noting blue skies at the start of their hike.Upon reaching the top, the unexpected storm forced them to take cover, resulting in injuries from the lightning strike.

Pendley reported that her son Landry and a friend had welts on their legs from the strike and were checked at a local emergency room.

They were not seriously injured.

Pendley said what happened is an important reminder for anyone heading outdoors this summer

“It’s so unpredictable,” she said. “It happened like that. The storm was over in five minutes, and I don’t know if I’m going to be much of a hiker after that.”

Chris White is the assistant director of Burke 911.

In 2008, White he along with seven others were injured by a strike while fighting a wildfire with the North Carolina Forest Service. White said it’s important to get off of any ridge, stay away from trees and get down.

“Get down in a crouch position with the balls of your feet touching the ground,” White said. “Have as limited contact with the ground as you can and put your heels together. Put some more rubber insulation between the two.”

White said you should try to get inside a building or back to your car if there is a threat of lighting.

The North Carolina Forest Service advises moving to lower elevations during storms and getting as low as possible for safety.

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