Lightning strike kills woman walking two dogs in California, officials say
.jpg "A woman was walking with her two dogs on a path near the San Gabriel River bed in Pico Rivera on Wednesday when they were struck and killed by lighting, officials said.")
A woman and her two dogs were killed by lightning in California, officials said.
The woman was walking with her two dogs on a path near the San Gabriel River bed in Pico Rivera on Wednesday, June 22, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jonathan Branham told McClatchy News in a phone interview.
“There’s a walkway there that people use as a bike path and a walkway,” Pico Rivera city spokesman Robert Alaniz told McClatchy news in a phone interview.
Police arrived shortly before 9 a.m. to find the woman and her two dogs deceased, Branham said.
The coroner’s office was still working in the afternoon to identify the woman, according to Alaniz.
Parts of Southern California had thunder, lightning, rain and heavy winds overnight and into Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service in Los Angeles.
In light of the weather conditions, all city employees working outside were told to stop, Alaniz said. A notification was also sent out to residents to head caution when outdoors.
“This just reminded all of us that we need to use extreme caution whenever outdoors during thunderstorms,” Alaniz said.
Over the course of 15 years, from 2006 to 2021, lightning strikes have caused about 28 deaths per year across the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Though the risk of being struck by lightning is low, the injuries that may result are serious.
“You can protect yourself and your loved ones if you know what to do when you see lightning or when you hear thunder as a warning,” the CDC says.
There is a chance of thunderstorms through Wednesday evening in the Los Angeles area, according to the NWS.
Pico Rivera is about 15 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.
This story was originally published June 22, 2022 at 3:04 PM with the headline "Lightning strike kills woman walking two dogs in California, officials say."
