SANDPOINT — Bonner County showed its true colors after a home was struck by a lone bolt of lightning last month.

The jolt of electricity, which hit a vent protruding from the metal roof of an Upper Grouse Creek Road home on May 17, sparked a structure fire inside the home’s garage and wiped out anything which happened to be plugged into an outlet.

“It immediately turned everything on fire in the garage,” said Cynthia Weiss, who was also struck by the lightning while working inside her home.

The home is secluded by trees, which meant neighbors were unable to see that it caught fire. The blast took out their land line and roached Weiss’ mobile phone, which was charging.

“All the phones were destroyed,” she said.

Weiss fled the home to find a phone where she could alert authorities.

Weiss’ husband, meanwhile, singlehandedly attacked the fire with extinguishers. Weiss, a certified emergency medical technician, urged her husband not to fight the fire as she has treated people who have suffered from smoke inhalation.

“He should have been overcome by smoke,” said Weiss, who credits her husband for halting a blaze that would have consumed their home.

Once the peal of the sirens could be heard, neighbors came to investigate and help. They felt the ground shake when the lightning struck, but were initially unaware that it struck a nearby home.

“There were at least 20 people who showed up once they heard the sirens and saw the lights,” said Weiss. “We had complete strangers show up.”

One neighbor pressed a $50 bill into her hand knowing that the couple was going to be hit with a slew of expenses.

Weiss’ husband managed to knock the fire down, but not before it had caused extensive damage to the garage and blackened every room in the home with soot.

Weiss, despite being accustomed to being barefoot due to her time living in Hawaii, was somehow inclined to put on her gym shoes immediately prior to the strike.

“It probably save my life,” she said.

Weiss said the strike was picked up by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration satellite.

“It was the only lightning strike in the area,” said Weiss.

Weiss is still recovering from the jolt.

“It’s been pretty awful, but also miraculous,” she said.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.