Lightning strike at Grand Marais Campground

 The thunder and lightning during the late night rain storm on Sunday, September 16, startled many, but probably none more so than Scott Johnson, a camper at the Grand Marais campground. It appears that his fifth-wheel camper took an almost direct lightning strike.

Johnson called the Cook County Sheriff’s Office just before 1 a.m. on Sunday, stating that he thought lightning hit his trailer. He said the force of the hit made the electrical plug come out of the post.

There was no smoke or flames, but Johnson said there was a strong odor of something electrical burning.

The Grand Marais Fire Department was on scene by 1:14 a.m. and confirmed there was no fire. Firefighters used their thermal imaging camera to make sure nothing inside the camper was smoldering.

There appeared to be no significant damage to the 5^th wheel, other than some scorching on the side where the power plug was connected.
No other campers were impacted and there were no injuries.