Huge Lightning Strike Leaves 120,000 Homes Without Power in Southern California As Forecasters Warn of More Storms

A bolt of lightning knocked out power to around 120,00 homes in southern California during a storm on Monday.

The fork of lightning struck a major bank of transformers at the Rector Station, just outside Visalia on Road 148 and Caldwell, causing it to burst into flames.

Firefighters battled for an hour to control the blaze but thousands of homes were without power last night and for many, it will not be restored until this evening, according to ABC30.

Southern California Edison (SCE) said in a statement damage to its facilities from the storms was ‘significant’ and it was working to quickly restore power to homes in the area.

The company also warned that more scattered thunderstorms were expected to continue for a few days.

Violent thunder storms were experienced across many parts of California yesterday, as the hot weather continued.

Giant forks of lightning were captured striking the ground close to Barstow, about 250 miles south east of Visalia, and San Francisco was also lit up by electrical storms overnight.