From WZEP>>News Segment 1 Lightning Strikes Three Homes in 14 Minutes The South Walton Fire District (SWFD) responded to 3 separate lightning strikes to residential structures late yesterday afternoon. All three lightning strikes occurred within 14 minutes. The first call was received at around 5:48 pm at 45 Shipwreck Circle in the Driftwood Estates subdivision. Within minutes of receiving the initial 9-1-1 call, SWFD units arrived on scene and found light smoke coming from the eves and around the chimney on the roof. Once crews accessed the attic, they were able to contain and extinguish the fire spread to a small section of the attic. Damages were estimated to be at around $100,000. The second call was received around 5:52 pm at 160 Jackson’s Run. When SWFD crews arrived they encountered heavy smoke coming from the roof and ridge vent area of the two story residential structure. Similar to the first fire, crews were able to quickly access the point of origin and knock the fire down. Damages were estimated to be around $18,000 - $20,000. The third call was received around 6:02 pm at 988 Cocobolo. When SWFD crews arrived they found a single story residential structure with no flame or smoke showing. Crews did find signs of a lightning strike to this unoccupied dwelling. Once crews made entry they utilized the Thermal Imaging Camera (TIC) to check for hidden fires in the walls and attic space. After a thorough search found no signs of active fire or smoke, power was cut to the structure as a precaution and crews returned to assist with the previous fires. (The damage estimates to this structure were not available at the time of this release). During the time SWFD resources were committed to these three separate fires, mutual aid to the rest of the fire district was provided by Destin Fire Control District, North Bay Fire, North Walton Fire Rescue and Panama City Beach. There were no injuries to report at any of the three fires. According to meteorologist, it was estimated that over 1,000 lightning strikes occurred in the South Walton area in a thirty minute time span which included the three lightning strikes to the residential homes.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 14:52:44 +0000