WOODBURY, Minn. - A home in Woodbury is being called unlivable after being gutted by a fire triggered by a suspected lightning strike.
Fire Commander John Wallgren says engines were dispatched just before 4:30 a.m. on reports of a fire. When firefighters arrived flames were leaping from the roof of the home on the 9400 block of Wentlock Road. Residents said a lightning strike that shook the entire neighborhood was to blame.
Crews entered the house and tried to fight the fire from inside, but flames soon leapt across the entire roof line, forcing firefighters to attack from above with two ladder trucks. The fire was put down in 20 minutes but the amount of water crews were forced to put in the roof resulted in severe water damage inside the home.
Wallgren also said a very active storm was taking place when fire crews responded, and firefighters had to suit up in a torrential downpour with lightning and thunder all around them.
The homeowner is currently out of town, so no evacuations had to be made. Woodbury's wasn't the only fire department that was busy overnight. Other lightning-related fire calls were made all across the metro.
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WOODBURY, MN — Woodbury and Cottage Grove crews responded to a fire on Wentlock Road in Woodbury Tuesday morning. A cloud-to-ground lightning strike is the presumed cause. No one was injured in the fire, according to Woodbury fire officials