WALDEN, Colo. – A thunderstorm that moved through rural Jackson County, Colorado, on Saturday is believed to have produced the first deadly lightning strike of the year, claiming the life of a local rancher.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office reported that the 51-year-old man was attending to his cattle when the strike occurred.

In addition to the rancher, several cows were also reported to have been killed during the storm; however, no other humans were thought to have been directly impacted.

Every year, hundreds of millions of lightning bolts are detected across the U.S., but only a handful become deadly.

According to NOAA statistics, lightning kills about 23 people each year in the U.S. and injures hundreds more.

More than a dozen deaths related to lightning strikes were reported in the U.S. in 2023.

(FOX Weather)

LIGHTNING FATALITIES WERE SECOND-LOWEST ON RECORD IN 2023, SAFETY COUNCIL SAYS

Data compiled by the National Lightning Safety Council showed ranching is one of a dozen activities that lead to the most deaths around the country.

The Jackson County death is reported to be the first in Centennial State since 2020 when a woman was struck and killed in the southwestern portion of the state.

Despite the recent death, fatalities related to lightning strikes have been on a steady decline.

In 2023, 14 people were killed by lightning, which was a 65% decrease from just seven years ago.

According to the NWS, a bolt can travel 10-12 miles outside of a thunderstorm and can contain 300 million volts of electricity.

National Lightning Safety Council deadly dozen list

(FOX Weather)

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242,101,157 LIGHTNING BOLTS SPOTTED OVER US IN 2023 WITH WIND FARMS, MIAMI TARGETS

The North Park Stockgrowers Association, a group that helps promote the local beef industry, offered its thoughts and prayers to the family of the man who was killed. 

“Our western ranching community will feel this for a long time. We all know what we do has a high degree of risk. We do it anyway. We do it for the livestock. We do it for the landscape. We do it for food security. We do it for our family – past, present and future. We do it because it feels right. We do it because it is right,” a nearby ranch posted on Facebook.

A food and donation site was set up for the family, which has already reported to have raised nearly $10,000 in the first days after the incident.

A 51-year-old rancher and 34 of his cattle became the latest victims of a spate of severe weather over the weekend.

According to press accounts in Jackson County, Colorado, rancher Mike Morgan was feeding his cattle with hay from his trailer on Saturday when a bolt of lightning killed him and knocked over 100 of the animals, roughly a third of which died.

“As best I can tell, it hit him on the trailer. The cattle were bunched up around the trailer and it hit them all,” county coroner George Crocket said, as reported by the Colorado Sun.

The outlet noted that Morgan’s father-in-law and wife were both in the vicinity and survived. They had spent the early part of the day branding cattle. By early afternoon storm clouds engulfed the sky as they were feeding the herd.

Crocket described the incident as unusually deadly. “I’ve seen horses get killed, but it’s usually one at a time,” he said, according to the Sun. He added that his grandfather once lost seven cattle to a lightning strike.

The outlet described Morgan as an outspoken rancher who was vocal about issues stemming from the reintroduction of wolves in the area.

“We need to get our way of life out to the people because they don’t understand our livelihood, the emotional impact and the financial impact,” he said in 2022.

Elsewhere in the country over the weekend, more than two dozen tornadoes touched down in five states, killing at least 20 people and injuring scores more.

Texas was especially impacted, with more than 100 injuries reported and disasters declared in 106 counties, the Associated Press noted. In Cooke County, two young children from the same family were fatally wounded.

Deaths were also reported in Oklahoma and Arkansas, with additional twisters sighted in Missouri and Kansas. Arkansas also suffered from a landslide over the weekend that off traffic on some sections of a highway in both directions.

ROCKY FORD, Colo. (KKTV) – A driver gets an A for creativity but an F for execution in allegedly trying to get out of a ticket over the weekend.

Rocky Ford police say they pulled over a man from Georgia for driving with a fake license plate.

“The driver … initially tried the sovereign citizen routine: not needing to have or produce a driver’s license, registration, or proof of insurance, as required by Colorado statutes,” the police department said.

Officers didn’t buy it.

“Unfortunately for this driver, ‘sovereign citizen’ status is a ‘no go’ here in Rocky Ford, Colorado.”

The suspect quickly found himself detained by police.

“[He] was assisted from his vehicle and detained for refusing to identify himself and produce the necessary documents. After coming to the realization that complying with Colorado law was not an option for him, [the suspect] decided to identify himself to investigating officers. It was also established that his vehicle was not registered or insured.”

The suspect was ultimately identified as plain old citizen Jonathan Thompson, 32, of Harlem, Georgia. Police say he’s facing various traffic-related charges — and had his phony license plate taken away.

“Rocky Ford Police Department aren’t playing these kinda games. Obey the law if you’d like to live in, drive through, or visit our wonderful city. Please and thank you.”

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