Last night’s lightning strike hit a Black Diamond tree, sending up flames and eventually closing Robert’s Drive for a few hours.

A witness said the lighting hit the 200-foot tree around 11 p.m. on May 15.

Mountain View Fire and Rescue Chief Dawn Judkins said the flames reached 100 feet high, and the black blew bark up to 200 feet away. The flames were too high up for first responders to reach them with a hose.

A tree evaluator told the department they had to wait until morning to take the tree down, but when they arrived around 7:30 a.m. this morning, the tree had fallen on the road, missing the Black Diamond Library and a nearby home.

Judkins said crews were starting to open the road around 11:38 a.m.