Lightning strike hits Mesa auto shop hard

MESA, Ariz. (KSAZ) - Tuesday afternoon's storm that blew through the valley left a last impression on one business owner.

The parking lot outside Desert Heat Automotive in Mesa was struck by lightning, and the dramatic moment was caught on camera.

"Cameras are right here, and right here, and they're just wide angle," said Keith Canete.

Keith put surveillance cameras outside his Mesa automotive shop two months ago.

"We've had theft here before, so we just put cameras up, and they caught everything in view," he said.

Never would he imagine they would capture mother nature hard at work during the storm.

"I thought you know they'd catch someone stealing something, not a lightning strike," said Canete.

"I was here, the car was half way up when it happened, and I just pretty much turned around and I could see the tree was falling over," said Brian Warren.

Warren was the only person still inside; he says it was about 5:45 when he heard the storm draw near and felt the lightning.

"Yeah you could actually like feel it, it was like shooting off a gun but it was more intense, because it was like your whole body and like everything around you just shook," said Warren.

Debris from the tree is still scattered all over the parking lot, and branches and leaves remain on the cars that were almost hit.

"We walked back outside after it hit, he basically looked at it, well he looked up at the sky and said well, thank God it didn't hit again," said Canete.

The two men are hopeful lightning really only does strike once. Both are just happy to watch the video from the first time around.

No one was hurt, and the cars that were hit by the debris only had minor damage.