Lightning leads to flooded condo in Montecito

A bolt of lightning is believed to be responsible for broken pipe and flooding in a Montecito condominium.

It happened during a bizarre afternoon storm Thursday that developed quickly during a passing weather system.

The path of impacts had a stretch from the Santa Ynez Valley to Carpinteria.

Off of San Ysidro Road near East Valley in Montecito, the lightning was seen hitting a venting pipe on the top of a three story condo. It was witnessed by the staff of Peter Hartmann dentistry nearby. Immediately a 911 call was made to the Montecito Fire Protection District.

“I wouldn’t have known. I am so thankful that they were looking out the window at the time and saw the lightning,” said Jillian Wittman who lives in the condo with her family.

She was at the store with her son when the call came in from the person next door and the fire department.

They needed to get inside to see if the lightning did any damage.

Once the door was open, they saw water damage in many areas and found a broken pipe for the fire sprinkler system.

It is believed to have been split by the force of the lightning coming into the house along the metal from the vent to the heating unit. The sprinkler was right next to it and a connector apparently came apart.

The damage was extensive. ” The walls, ceiling of the third floor, flooring of the third floor, ceiling of the second floor in the center wall coming down, carpeting, into the kitchen pretty much our house is like a tube and it drained down the center,” said Wittman.

Juan Castro from Castros Cleaning and Restoration says he has a team on the project to remove the soggy carpet, clean the walls and floors and dry out the property. He is helping the homeowner with insurance claims and overall coverage on the necessary work.

This comes after the family had to move eight times because of the Thomas fire and Montecito mudflow over the last year. “I had moved everything to the third floor because of the mud. Just didn’t want to have it in the garage, and now they are not safe on the third floor so I moved it back into the garage,” said Wittman of her time moving belongings.

The Wittmans remain optimistic, despite the surprising setback and are hoping to be back in their house by Christmas.