Buckeye school cleaning up after morning lightning strike

BUCKEYE, Ariz. - A Buckeye elementary school is cleaning up after a sudden lightning strike hit the building. All students and staff are safe, but the school could now be facing expensive repairs.

What we know:

Staff at Verrado Heritage Elementary School say lightning struck the gym, leaving part of the roof crumbled on the ground and scattered across the lawn.

"It was startling, to be quite frank," said school principal Meredith Noce.

"Pretty intense to see this damage here," said assistant superintendent Erik Stone.

It struck around 7:40 a.m. on Sept. 24, just before students headed into class.

"I've been in public education for the last 24 years and this is the first time I've seen something like this happen at a school site," Stone said.

Dig deeper:

Debris covers the ground below the strike zone, but remnants of the roof are blown even farther out.

"We have debris up to 25, 30 feet away that came off this lightning crash," Stone said.

It was a sight and sound that immediately put staff on high alert.

"My office manager came to me and let me know that she saw some door handles in the courtyard that were sparking," Noce said. "My cafeteria crew did make mention that it was pretty loud, and it almost sounded like a plane crashed into a building—to that magnitude."

Repairs won't come cheap.

"Something like this to repair that part of the building could go up 100 thousand dollars," Stone said.

But staff say they are just grateful no one was in harm's way.

"We're just very, very thankful that everyone was safe and that no one got hurt, but it was definitely an interesting way to start the morning," Noce said.

What's next:

The principal says the gym will be off limits for students until every inspection is finalized.

Where the school is located