A two-acre fire injured one person and burned trees and brush Thursday night when lightning struck a condensed area of palm trees in Tempe's Papago Park.
Firefighter Brian Mangis of the Phoenix Fire Department said they received the call around 7:30 p.m.
Mangis said the fire, at 1300 N. College Ave., started about 200 feet away from any buildings, including the nearby Arizona Historical Society Museum - Marley Center, but did no damage.
Tempe and Phoenix fire departments responded with eight companies, or about 32 to 50 firefighters, and paramedics.
Lyndsay Gehlbach, 23, of Chandler, said she was hiking in Papago Park for about 30 minutes when she felt the shock of the lightning through the rocks and saw the fire ignite in the desert.
"I could feel the electricity," she said. "I could see pink going through my body. I felt shaky and scared."
Gehlbach said she was two months pregnant. Firefighters transported her to Tempe St. Luke's Hospital for examination.
Reach the reporter at lindsay.butler@asu.edu.
