EL MIRAGE — Four adults were taken to a hospital Friday morning after lightning struck near El Mirage Elementary School, police said.
El Mirage police were called around 8:40 a.m. to the area of the school’s bus drop-off, ABC15 reported.
Police said the four adults were not struck directly but were affected by a nearby strike. All four were conscious when they were taken to the hospital, according to the report.
The strike came as storms moved across the Valley on Friday, bringing lightning, heavy rain and, by evening, flash flooding in Phoenix and Scottsdale.
The National Weather Service advises that no place outdoors is safe when thunder can be heard. People should move inside a substantial building or a hard-topped vehicle and wait 30 minutes after the last thunder before going back outside.
Lightning injuries often come from ground current or side flashes rather than direct strikes, which can affect several people standing near the point of impact, according to the weather service.
Sources: ABC15. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: NOAA Photo Library / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
