Sparking Outlet from Lightening

[Teguci]

This one is a puzzler and I'm looking for some ideas!

5 seconds after a lightening strike an interior outlet on an exterior wall sparks into the kitchen air.

What could be causing this and how would it be fixed?

Further information:
- House is properly grounded with rods and pipes
- Outlet has been replaced without improvement
- Surge Arrestor is installed to the panelboard for the house
- Outlet is in the middle of a GFCI circuit (installed in a kitchen)
- Outlet is next to a phone jack
- Exterior siding is aluminum and has been bonded and unbonded without improvement

 

[itsmoked]

This sounds bogus. Have you actually seen this with your own eyes?

Has this ever resulted in the GFI, or any other breaker trip?

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[jghrist]

Are you saying that there is sparking now after the lightning strike and after replacement of the receptacle? Sounds like you still have a short somewhere outside the receptacle.

Or are you saying that lightning has struck mulitple times and the sparking occurs 5 minutes after each strike, after various mitigation measures were taken?

 

[Teguci]

Considering the source, this is not bogus. Maybe the reality is slighty different than perceived.

Even after replacement of the outlet, the receptacle still experiences this problem.

 

[lefty51]

I can see something like this happening once in a blue moon, but if this is a regular occurence.....yes, something is definitely wrong.
With lightning, you can never predict how its going to act. Point in case, service call to check out residential lighting panel after lightning hit it...supposedly ?? Sounded kind of bogus, but checked it out....customer said lightning hit the clothesline outside, and came in the doorway nearby ( there was charred wood on the door as well ), went into the kitchen, cracked the mirror over the sink, then went into the bedroom and went to the lighting panel. All the evidence was there as well. Ball lightning......wow!!
The panel checked out fine.
With that being said, this is not a regular occurence...to say the least.