Rain, thunder and lightning strikes hit parts of the East County Monday causing some frightening moments for residents.
Escondido resident Lisa Christensen saw the lightning, felt the thunder near her home and then braced for what was to come.
"About five minutes after the lightning strike I heard fire engines and my neighbor calls and says ‘Look out your back patio’ and I went ‘Oh my God.’ Just white plumes of smoke and two engines were up there,” she said.
The lightning strike had started a fire and knocked out power to thousands of homes.
Christensen snapped pictures from her backyard as she watched firefighters worked quickly to put out the fire.
"It was not anywhere near a structure but you could definitely see the plumes of white smoke,” she said.
Power outages in Escondido lasted about 15 to 30 minutes in some areas.
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In Ramona, a quick heavy downpour left puddles on the side of the road.
In Borrego Springs, there was rain as well as ominous-looking clouds.
Wind gust of up to 60 miles per hour were reported in the storm that left debris on the ground and sandblasted cars and homes.
Borrego Springs resident Joan Carskadden will be living with some of the sand for a while.
"All of a sudden this wind came through and just blew all the furniture down and loaded up with pool with sand,” Carskadden said. “My house is full of sand because we didn't get the windows closed in time.”
