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Washington County Sheriff Scott Owen said they are making repairs after a lighting strike may have struck the Detention Center on Friday evening.

Over the weekend, the jail experienced heating and air issues. A maintenance technician made several trips in and determined that the building controller was out of service because it either took a lightning strike or experienced a power surge.

Sheriff Owen said the building air units were brought back up and running manually. It is believed that a power supply burned up and a part has been located to fix the issue.

If that isn't the issue, there may be a problem with the mother board which will cost much more to fix. For now, the Washington County Detention Center seems to have dodged a bullet.

Lightning strikes are not uncommon at the Washington County Detention Center. Sheriff Owen said although there is a lightning suppression system on the building, they still experience damages to their electronic devices.

Sheriff Scott Owen said the damages appear to be minimal, but they did go ahead and initiate a claim with the Association of County Commissioners of Oklahoma. He said it gives them the opportunity to expedite repairs on an emergency basis to get everything up and running again.

ACCO covers the building’s insurance. If a major expense is experienced, the insurance covers the major damage costs. This saves the taxpayer from having the damages fixed at their expense.

There have been electrical damages like this in the past, but they have been worse – five-figures worth in expenses worse.