Lightning Strike Injures 8 People in Avery County

Lightning Strike Injures 8 People at the Alpine Coaster in Avery County

BY Justin Pryor and Rose Eiklor Avery County

PUBLISHED 5:10 PM ET Jul. 21, 2020 PUBLISHED 5:10 PM EDT Jul. 21, 2020

BANNER ELK, N.C. -- A popular mountain tourist attraction is closed after several people were injured Tuesday afternoon by a lightning strike.

The incident happened at the Wilderness Run Alpine Coaster around 3 p.m.

Spectrum News 1 reporter Rose Eiklor says lightning hit a tree and injured eight people who were nearby, including one person who was sitting on a rock at the base of the tree at the time of the strike.

This is where the lightning strike happened. You can see damage to the tree and the ground shifted. One of the people hit were sitting on that rock @SpecNews1CLT pic.twitter.com/OqHOItmEC6
— Rose Eiklor (@Rose_Eiklor) July 21, 2020

The business put out a statement on its Facebook page saying in part, "Our hearts and prayers go out to them and their families."

While officials say the people were on the property when the strike occurred, they were not on the coaster.

"The coaster is grounded and we were not operating at the time of the incident," the Facebook post read. "We closesly monitor weather and shut operations down till storms pass through."

Wilderness Run Alpine Coaster says it will be closed the remainder of the day and through tomorrow.