MARGATE, N.J. — They say lightning never strikes twice in the same place. Richard Helfant has an opinion about that.
"They lie," he said.
The executive director of the group that maintains Lucy the Elephant, the national historic landmark on the Jersey shore, knows better. The 65-foot tall wood and metal pachyderm in Margate, just south of Atlantic City, was damaged by a lightning strike on Sunday.
It was the second time in five years Lucy was hit by lightning; a 2006 strike caused $162,000 worth of damage. The toll this time could range from $10,000 to $100,000, depending on how many of the critical systems that were fried in Sunday's incident need to be replaced.
Helfant was at home early Sunday when a strong thunderstorm rolled through the area. An assistant called him, saying the air conditioning wasn't working and the alarm panel "was going crazy."
"I knew something was wrong," he said.
When he got there, it was obvious what had happened. A lightning strike had scorched numerous systems inside Lucy, including four of the five air conditioning units, electricity to part of the building, an Internet cable that allowed them to process credit cards, a computer system and the fire alarm system. Hallway lighting was knocked out and decorative staircase lighting was charred black inside its clear plastic tubes.
But Lucy remains open, if at slightly higher temperatures. A cooling contractor, Gary McElwee, came to the structure Wednesday to check on critical systems, at least some of which need extensive work.
"Everything that was electrical went during that power surge," he said. "You're talking about a lot of voltage flying down that line."
Actually, the 2006 lightning strike may have made the damage from this one less severe. After the previous strike, which destroyed Lucy's riding carriage, called a howdah, Lucy's keepers installed a lightning rod system with grounding wires to safely channel surges of electricity into the ground and prevent the structure from catching fire.
"It could have been worse," Helfant said. "Because of that lightning protector that transferred it into the ground, the structure is intact."
Lucy is insured, but even that is a complicated story. It previously was protected by Lloyd's of London but was dropped in May due to "adverse claims history," Helfant said. That included the 2006 lightning strike and a freak accident in 2009 when someone had rented the grounds to have a wedding and a sudden gust of wind lifted up the tent and smashed its pole into Lucy's posterior. That cost $135,000 to repair, and work is still not completely finished, Helfant said.
The 90-ton elephant was built in 1881 by a land speculator trying to lure people to what was then known as South Atlantic City. Since then, it has functioned as a restaurant, a tavern, someone's house, and recently, a tourist attraction.
Lucy's 130th birthday will be observed in two weeks.