Rancher, 34 head of cattle killed by lightning strike in Jackson County

JACKSON COUNTY – A farmer and more than 30 livestock were killed by a lightning strike in Jackson County on Saturday, according to the Jackson County Coroner’s Office.

As first reported by Steamboat Radio, the strike killed the animals and 51-year-old Mike Morgan, who had just finished branding cattle and started feeding them when lightning struck. It knocked over about 100 head of cattle, killing 34 of them.

The first call to 911 came in around 2:08 p.m

Jackson County Coroner George Crocket told Steamboat Radio that a storm was raging in northwest Rand Saturday afternoon.

The Boulder-based National Weather Service (NWS) spotted the storm as it moved east Saturday and warned people in the foothills and Font Range to go indoors if they heard thunder.

Read the the full story at Denver7.com.

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