Lightning Strikes Tree of the Gods

One of the tallest deodar cedars (“tree of the gods” in Sanskrit) in Seattle was in Leschi Park until the lightning storm on September 7. Many of us heard a sharp clap that seemed too close for comfort during the massive lightning storm that struck the Seattle area between 6pm and 9pm on the first Saturday of September this year.

The top of one of Leschi Park’s two deodar cedars was sheared off. The tree was cited as having a height of 86 1/2-feet in “Trees of Seattle” (2006) by Arthur Lee Jacobson. We’ll need a new measurement, but clearly, it’s off the list of tallest deodars.