Lightning Strike Forces Closure at Split Rock Lighthouse in Two Harbors
It was day filled with nasty weather across much of the Northland, with thunder storms bringing strong rain, hail, wind and lightning.
One lighting strike in Two Harbors has forced the temporary closure of a popular attraction in the area, but thankfully there is also good news to report related to the incident.
The Split Rock Lighthouse, located at 3713 Split Rock Lighthouse Road, reported Monday afternoon that a lightning strike has forced a temporarily closure. They reported the incident on their official Facebook page:
CLOSURE ALERT: Due to a lightning strike, the Split Rock Lighthouse Visitor Center and Historic Site will be closed May 10 and 11. We intend to reopen May 12; watch this space for updates and confirmation.
Thankfully, they followed up that initial post with un update that provided clarification on what happened, along with some good news:
UPDATE 5/9/2022 5:32 PM: Thank you everyone for reaching out. No one was injured in the strike and none of the historic buildings were damaged. The strike hit a tree in our parking lot and connected with a light pole and the current traveled back to the visitor center affecting some of our systems internally. We just need a few days to assess other parts of the property.
While it's too bad that the visitor center will be closed for at least two days while they make the necessary repairs to reopen, it good that nobody was hurt and that no damage had been to their buildings.
Dan Wolfe from Duluth TV station KBJR 6 also shared the news on his Facebook page along with several photos of the damage caused by the lightning strike.
Hopefully their cleanup efforts go as planned and they are able to reopen on the target of May 12, which would allow them to be open heading into fishing opener weekend in Minnesota.