Lightning bolt candles trees on Mount Macpherson

A lightning bolt ignited trees on the north face of Mount Macpherson shortly before 9 pm on Tuesday but not before Revelstokians were treated to a spectacular sunset. This colourful sky preceded a lightning storm that illuminated the skies over the Monashee and Selkirk Mountains that night. Please click on the image to see a larger version. David F. Rooney panorama

Rene Terlinden was up picking berries north of the Revelstoke Dam with friends when he digitally captured the bolt of lightning that ignited trees on Mount Macpherson at 8:37 pm on Tuesday evening This was the sky fjust a split second before lightning ripped the sky. Video capture by Rene Terlinden

Then... boom! The sky was bleached by the bolt. Video capture by Rene Terlinden

Here's the lightning hitting the mountain. Video capture by Rene Terlinden

This frame shows the bolt fading but the trees it hit exploding into flame. Great video captures, Rene! Many thanks. You can see Rene's short video of the actual strike exclusively in The Current Video feature on the front page of The Revelstoke Current. Video capture by Rene Terlinden

This was what most people in town saw during the evening. The trees were still burning later that evening and remained smoking on Wednesday morning. David F. Rooney photo