DENVER– A lightning strike killed a Colorado rancher and 34 head of cattle over the weekend, officials said Sunday.
Mike Morgan, 51, was feeding his cattle from a trailer when he was struck and died at the scene despite rescue efforts, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said.
Lightning struck a large pastureland outside the town of Rand, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) northwest of Denver, said George Crocket, the county coroner.
The strike also knocked over about 100 head of cattle clustered around the hay-laden trailer, Crocket said. “Everyone stood up except the 34,” he said.
Morgan’s father-in-law and wife were nearby but survived the explosion, Crocket said.
The incident stunned the small, close-knit community where almost everyone knows everyone, Crockett said.
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Bedayn is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-reported issues.
ABC News
