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August 9, 2001
By Aspen C. Emmett A tall tree, nearby water and a relentless electrical storm proved to be a hazardous combination for three golfers at the Conquistador Golf Course Monday afternoon. A father and his two sons, all of Blythe, Calif., were airlifted to St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction after a lightning bolt pulsated through the three and the cottonwood tree they were standing under, according to Cortez Police Chief Roy Lane. "It was pretty serious and pretty nasty," Lane said of the injuries inflicted by the jolt. The most critically wounded was 15-year-old Christopher Faulkner, who suffered severe burns and a head injury where the electricity likely exited his body, Lane said. The boy was upgraded to good condition Wednesday afternoon, according to hospital spokesperson Jeff Kirtland. Michael Faulkner, 42, and Kirby Faulkner, 11, were also burned by the lightning and were released from the hospital Wednesday, Kirtland said. The three were on the fourth hole of the golf course when the storm settled over the area, Lane said. As the rain began to pour down and the lightning crackled around them, they took shelter under a nearby tree. "The lightning hit the tree and struck all three of them," Lane explained. The youngest boy was the least hurt and was able to run for help. Southwest Memorial Hospital ambulances were dispatched to the golf course just after 4 p.m. and transported the victims to the hospital, where they were stabilized before being sent on to St. Mary’s that evening. Chris Burkett of the Cortez Parks and Recreation Department said golfers were alerted of the dangerous storm via an announcement over a PA system, but he did not know if the Faulkners had heard the warning. "The course had been closed and people had been called in," Burkett said. "At the pro shop there is a lightning detector and it flashes; when that occurs they call everyone in off the course." Conquistador also has a lightning siren to alert golfers to dangerous conditions, but Monday it was in disrepair, Burkett said. "We had tried using the siren but it was broken and in the process of being repaired." Burkett said he believed golf-course personnel had done all they could to warn golfers, but said people who aren’t from the area often don’t understand the severity of storms in Southwest Colorado. "We have quite a bit of lightning around here during certain parts of the year," he said. "People that aren’t from Colorado don’t know or don’t realize how quick the weather can change here. "I think a lot of folks have never seen what our lightning storms are like. You’re just stunned and you’re really saddened when something like that occurs." The injury-related strike is the first in recent memory in Cortez, Lane said. "In my 20 years here, I don’t think we’ve had one in the city limits," he commented. In the county, there have been no reports of people struck
by lightning this year or in recent years, according to Montezuma County
Sheriff’s Detective Lt. Kalvin Boggs. Lightning-safety tips Most-common places for lightning-strike deaths:
Tips for avoiding lightning strikes:
Courtesy of National Weather Service, Grand Junction.
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Copyright © 2001 the Cortez Journal.
All rights reserved. |
