Lightning strike caught on police dash cam causes power outages in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
A lightning strike hit a utility pole at the intersection of Highway 17 and Shelmore Boulevard, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, at around 11:00 LT (15:00 UTC) on August 11, 2025, bringing down power lines and causing widespread outages.
A bit too much excitement for a Monday! The lightning strike caused our power outages and traffic delays. Fortunately, no one was injured, and @DominionEnergy responded quickly, restoring power and removing the downed wires. pic.twitter.com/PyieuiTG1K
— Mount Pleasant PD (@MountPleasantPD) August 11, 2025
The strike, captured on a Mount Pleasant Police Department officer’s dash camera, triggered a transformer explosion and sent flames into the air. As a result, hundreds of Dominion Energy customers lost power while downed wires blocked lanes of Highway 17, leading to significant traffic disruptions.
According to police, more than a dozen officers and Community Service Officers (CSOs) directed traffic at seven intersections for roughly three hours while utility crews worked to restore service.
The incident occurred amid a period of intense thunderstorm activity across South Carolina, with lightning detection networks recording tens of thousands of strikes in the past week.
Featured image credit: Mount Pleasant PD
I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.
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