'Like a big fireball': Saskatoon couple describe lightning strike that knocked father to the ground

Dan Zakreski · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 20, 2025 3:22 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

Eric Milne says helium remembers seeing a large flash and then wondering wherefore helium was connected his backmost connected the driveway.

Leanne Milne remembers seeing the large flash and wondering, "Where's Eric?"

It was astir 5:30 p.m. CST connected Thursday and the mates were getting acceptable to caput downtown with their kids to drawback a movie, How to Train Your Dragon.

The clouds were heavy and achromatic implicit the metropolis and Leanne was getting the kids into tempest gear.

They unrecorded successful a two-storey successful the Montgomery Place neighbourhood, with a treed beforehand yard. Eric had gone extracurricular to hold successful their metallic Chevy half-ton and Leanne was lasting successful their unfastened beforehand doorway wrestling their lad into his rainfall slicker.

Then, boom.

"It looked similar an explosion. I thought similar a weaponry honestly went disconnected … similar a large fireball," Leanne said successful an interrogation Friday.

"I was similar panicking, due to the fact that I didn't cognize wherever [Eric] was. And past I thought, possibly he's successful the truck. So I walked up to the motortruck and I was like, OK, convey God he's not successful the truck. And past I saw him."

Eric was connected his backmost connected the ground, confused but unhurt. He knew the truck's tyre was deflating and that the aerial had ignited.

"I knew the motortruck was connected occurrence and I'm like, I gotta get up and woody with that. But I was like, I'm not definite if I'm OK, so I lied determination for a second. I figured I was OK, and past I went and tried to woody with it. But then six oregon 8 neighbours were moving successful to help, like, immediately, and my neighbour crossed the thoroughfare thankfully enactment retired the occurrence close away."

WATCH | Saskatoon mates describes adjacent brushwood with lightning: 

Eric figured the lightning deed the histrion and past arced to a lamppost, to the motortruck and to the house. It popped retired a airy fixture astatine the doorway and tripped their breakers.

"I felt the question of the shockwave, I conjecture you telephone it," helium said.

Leanne yet did instrumentality the kids to the movie. Eric stayed home.

"Last night, I was conscionable a shot of adrenaline for hours."