Lightning not cause of fire that destroyed church’s trailers

RAW VIDEO: Weather to blame for burning down church retreat buildings

Lightning was not the cause of a fire that destroyed two double-wide trailers in Cherokee County, a fire department investigator said Tuesday. But the cause has not been determined.

Firefighters were called around 6:45 a.m. Monday to the 800 block of Bridgemill Avenue and arrived to find two trailers fully involved, according to Tim Cavender, spokesman for the Cherokee County fire department.

The trailers are among five located in Chapel Knoll at Lake Allatoona, a property owned by the First Baptist Church of Marietta and used for events, a spokeswoman for the church said.

Investigators initially suspected that lightning may have caused the fire, but have since determined it was not the cause.

“Lightning was not the cause of the fire at the church retreat yesterday,” fire investigator Shane Daniel said in an emailed statement. “No lightning was reported in the area until 0800 hrs. according to the lighting strike analysis. The cause at this time is still undetermined.”

No one was injured.