People don’t often survive when struck by lightning. But that’s what happened to a Sierra hiker in Placer County Tuesday afternoon. CHP Public Affairs Officer David White says the hiker, who is from Austria, along with his girlfriend were visiting a friend in Fairfield when that friend took them on the hike that the friend had taken many times, near Donner Summit…

click to listen to Officer White 

Worried about more lightning strikes, the two friends of the victim called 9-1-1. They were unable to see their friend until a CHP helicopter arrived. The victim was transported by air ambulance to the UC Davis Burn Center, where his is still in the Intensive Care Unit. White says the trio had no indication of lightning at the time. He says getting struck is rare…

click to listen to Officer White

White reminds hikers in the Sierra to make sure they get an up-to-the-minute weather forecast.