Darkness continues to envelop Grand Caverns, America's oldest show cave, after a lightning strike damaged the attraction's electrical system earlier this month, officials there say.
Charmaine Detrow, an education coordinator at the Grottoes park, said caverns officials are still mystified as to how cables and a light box, which provide illumination for tours, were struck by lightning. She said the system is inside the cave with no exposure to the elements.
"There's no doubt in our minds it got hit," she said. "The plastic switches are melted onto the metal box."
Guided tours in the Grand Caverns have been suspended since Aug. 17, the day after the lightning strike occurred, according to park officials.
But the park, which also offers recreational activities like mini-golf, horseback riding, swimming and hiking, is still open.
Detrow said electricians are working to determine the extent of damage before making repairs.
She said park officials hope to reopen on Saturday.
"It really depends on what the electricians find," she said.
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See also this story: Puzzling sudden drowning in Florida blamed on 'bolt from the blue' lightning [Link]
... where you read:
"Doctors said the injuries sustained by the two were consistent from a lightning strike.
But those on the river find that hard to believe.
The sky was clear. Harding even held an umbrella over the brothers to shade them from the sun. No one heard a noise or saw a flash.
The so-called "bolt from the blue" is a bit of a misnomer, but it is possible, according to Richard Kithil, founder and chief executive officer of the National Lightning Safety Institute, a nonprofit group based in Denver, Colo.
Lightning always has to come from a cloud, but it can travel up to 40 miles from its source - seemingly from out of nowhere, he explained.
There were storms in other parts of the county at 4:15 p.m. Sunday.
A lightning strike on the ground will create a field of static that makes hair stand on end and a sharp smell of ozone. The same effect occurs in water strikes, although to a lesser degree.
The water was packed with other swimmers, but Kithil said lightning's effects dissipate rapidly in water; anyone greater than 10-20 feet away wouldn't feel a jolt. "
The strike in the cave occurred on August 16th... the strike in the river occurred September 16th.
That's strange, too.