Tree at Vallombrosa Center in Menlo Park struck by lightening, building damaged

InMenlo reader Howard Smith supplied this account and photos: The Tuesday night thunderstorm in Menlo Park included a lightning strike at Vallombrosa Center. As you can see in the pictures there is one tall redwood tree next to another redwood tree that was struck by the lightning. The upper 2/3’s of the tree exploded sending pieces of the tree flying in all directions. A number of priests were staying at the Center, but they had all gone to their rooms a little before 10:00 pm – just minutes before the lightning strike took place. No one was hurt but there was minor damage to several buildings.