Lightning Fires Damage Several Benton County Homes
Last updated Thursday, April 10, 2008 10:47 PM CDT in News
By Anna Fry & Melissa Sherman
The Morning News
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Justin Hammer just reached the door of his mother-in-law's Bella Vista home Thursday morning when lightning struck its underground propane tank and blew the lid into the air.
"I saw sparks jump up 20 feet," Hammer said. "It singed my hairs. I felt the heat."
Hammer stooped to cover his 4-year-old son, Riley, still in his car seat, and used his free hand to knock on the door. Sandra Sandlin opened it, then looked behind her and saw smoke coming up from the basement.
"It was immediate," Sandlin said. Hammer told her about the lightning, then Hammer, Riley, Sandlin and Sandlin's 13-year-old son, Zack, left the house at 5 Lambeth Circle.
The lightning that struck the tank traveled underground gas pipes, blew the line off Sandlin's basement furnace and started the fire, firefighters said.
Bella Vista Battalion Chief Bryan Wolfgang said he could see heavy smoke pouring from the attic and eaves when he arrived at 7:04 a.m. Firefighters had the fire under control within 40 minutes. It still caused moderate to heavy damage to the house, Fire Chief Steve Sims said.
Riley's parents said the lightning didn't seem to scare him.
"I don't think he really understands," Trisha Hammer said. "All he keeps saying is, 'It went boom.'"
Early morning lightning strikes may have caused a number of fires around Benton County.
The shell of a house was all that was left after a reported lightning strike at 11883 Ventris Road, said Rob Taylor, chief of Northeast Benton County Volunteer Fire Department.
Firefighters responded at 3:30 a.m. after a fire started in the home's kitchen, Taylor said. The residents said the fire might have started around the gas stove after lightning struck the house.
No one was injured, Taylor said.
Benton County Fire Marshal Will Hanna said he wouldn't rule out the possibility of a lightning strike but said Thursday he hadn't determined the cause.
Lightning hit two houses in Bentonville, starting a fire at one and causing major structural damage to the other.
Lightning struck a room over the garage of the house at 4004 S.W. Banbury Ave., south of Regional Airport Boulevard, about 12:30 a.m., Fire Chief Dan White said. Fire made its way through the walls, attic and ceiling between the first and second floor.
Smoke detectors alerted the home's six occupants to evacuate, White said.
At 6:17 a.m., lightning struck a one-story house at 4504 S.W. Skyline St. in Bentonville, leaving scorch marks and structural damage on the roof.
Problems with lightning strikes apparently started Wednesday night. The Rogers Fire Department responded at 7:56 p.m. Wednesday to a report of a lightning strike at 1609 S. 26th Place.
The resident told firefighters the house was struck by lightning and ignited the natural gas line to the water heater, according to fire reports.
The valve on the natural gas line was turned off and the fire was extinguished, according to reports.
Gentry and Siloam Springs Fire Departments responded around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday to a fire in a chicken house near Airport Road and Benton County Road 6, said Todd Colzin, Siloam Springs fire marshal.
The fire was contained to a dozen bails of hay, Colzin said. The cause of the fire is still undetermined.
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