A local 63-year-old man struck by lightning in Canmore on Thursday (July 16) was airlifted to Calgary Foothills Medical Centre for a thorough check up.
A local 63-year-old man struck by lightning in Canmore on Thursday (July 16) was airlifted to Calgary Foothills Medical Centre for a thorough check up.
The man was conscious and speaking to emergency personnel at the Canmore Hospital before being transported, said Canmore RCMP.
No other injuries were reported.
The man had been golfing at the Canmore Golf and Curling Club (CGCC) and after 12 p.m. was struck by lightning when he and his wife took cover at the 16th Hole shelter to escape rainy weather.
The man was zapped after a bolt hit a tree next to the shelter, which knocked him unconscious.
Eyewitness Dale Jenks, who was golfing nearby, says there was “no warning” of lightning when the bolt struck down. Jenks says the man wasn’ t breathing until the man’ s wife began to perform CPR on him, which he says probably saved his life.
Dave Jones, assistant general manager at CCGC, said the man is a member at the course and the splintered 16th Hole tree will be coming down tomorrow.
The golf course is equipped with a lightning predictor called Thor Guard, which is a warning system designed to alert administration of incoming thunder storms.
Jones says the storm came in so “quickly and rapidly” that it went from a warning to a red alert in a matter of seconds.
“The system goes off well ahead of time,” said Jones. "And it was functioning properly."
Canmore RCMP and two EMS ambulance vehicles were on scene.
The Outlook will update when more information becomes available.
