Update: Lightning Strikes Yost Pool, Canceling Cannonball/Belly Flop Contest

An resulted in a last-minute cancellation of the annual cannonball/bellyflop contest.

According to City of Edmonds Recreation coordinator Todd Cort, lightning struck somewhere on the west side of the pool building at around 5:20 p.m., 40 minutes before the scheduled start of the contest.

"It appears to have traveled through the building and then into the ground in the vicinity of the lifeguard office," he said. "Electricians are inspecting the building from top to bottom to identify and repair any damage. Given this situation, we decided to cancel tonight's event."

Lifeguard Paul Lutgen was on a bench just outside the lifeguard office on the pool deck when the lightning struck.

"It was so incredibly loud," he said. "I thought the whole building was blowing up."

Other Yost staff saw sparks and smoke coming from an electrical breaker panel, and a woman in the women's restroom reported that the metal fixtures actually started to glow.

The cannonball/bellyflop contest, originally set to begin at 6 tonight, has been tentatively rescheduled to July 27, two weeks from the original date.