Fire crews stayed busy in Habersham County overnight as lightning strikes set several structures on fire.
Chad Black, the director of the county’s emergency agency, said lightning is believed to be the cause of seven structure fires overnight Wednesday when a storm moved through the area.
There was minimal damage to all seven structures, Black told Channel 2 Action News.
“Crews kept busy during the storm,” he said in an email. “LACI (Lee Arrendale Correctional Institution) and Demorest Fire Departments assisted with several of the calls.”
Heavy rain and lightning continued across far North Georgia on Thursday morning, according to Channel 2.
RELATED: Heavy rain, flooding make a mess of morning commute
House fires in Cobb and Paulding counties late Wednesday were also possibly caused by lighting strikes. Firefighters battled a blaze in the 4300 block of Oak Village Place near Marietta just before 11 p.m., the news station reported. No one was hurt during the incident.
Another house fire in the 1500 block of Gulledge Road near Dallas started around 8:30 p.m., when there was lightning reported in the area. Investigators have not determined the exact cause, Paulding County fire Lt. Steve Mapes told AJC.com. The house was significantly damaged.
In Carroll County, officials think lightning hit a water main overnight, shutting off water for several residents in the Cedars Glen subdivision, Channel 2 reported.
The storms are the latest in a series that have inundated North Georgia with rain all week, causing flooding, downed trees and power outages. Lightning was also reported Tuesday, when an earlier band of thunderstorms moved through metro Atlanta.
A fire Tuesday afternoon in the Edgewood neighborhood of Atlanta was likely started when lightning hit a nearby power pole, Atlanta fire officials said.
About the Author
