Lightning Can Start Fires: How to Protect Your El Paso Home

As monsoon season continues to strike El Paso, one thing we have been seeing a lot of lately is the amount of lightning in the sky. It can be beautiful, but it can still be dangerous. This year has proved that many times...

In 2026 alone, we’ve seen some several trees get struck by lightning in El Paso

Back in August upon tree in the Upper Valley were struck by lightning and caught on fire late at night.  Thankfully, no one was hurt, and no damages were caused aside from the tree that was struck by lightning.

We’ve seen two more trees get struck by lightning; this palm tree getting struck in the Northeast earlier in the week & another one just last night on the Eastside. Thankfully, in both cases, no one was hurt, and the only fire damage was done to the trees. The reason why this happens so much is because usually trees are very tall and contain moisture. That makes them a very prime target for lightning strikes.

So if your house has any trees in the yard, this certainly does raise a question…

How do you protect your house from lightning strikes in El Paso?

While it’s fully impossible to prevent lightning strike in your house, there are things you can do to prevent yourself and the stuff inside your house from being damaged by lightning.

• Install lightning rods or ground rods to redirect the lightning strike to the ground
• Protect your electronics by using whole house surge protectors.
• Unplug any electronics that could otherwise be damaged
• Avoid any plumbing or wiring to avoid being electrocuted.

There are more tips offered by Flash, the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes that you can read about on their website.

If your household has any trees that are either very old or valuable, you can protect your trees by installing a tree lightning protection system; cemeteries use them all the time.

As I said before, these are not 100% guarantee to prevent lightning strikes on your house, but these are measures you can take to at least protect your house the next time we have a raging thunderstorm and if there’s lightning in the area.

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