A North Texas family is picking up the pieces after their home was damaged in a fire caused by a possible lightning strike, according to fire officials.
Around 11 a.m. Tuesday, Saginaw firefighters responded to a home on the 500 block of Acorn Court in Saginaw for a fire. Units from the Fort Worth Fire Department also assisted.
While not a total loss, there was damage inside the home. Saginaw fire officials say they suspect the fire was caused by a lightning strike during the rainfall Tuesday, though the exact cause has not been confirmed. The home belongs to Misty St. Clair and her family.
“I just got a phone call from work that my house was on fire. So, I left immediately. My husband called me, and he was at work so, we met here almost the same time. There were fire trucks,” St. Clair said. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around it, find somewhere to live until it’s fixed. That’s all I can think about, is where are we going to go?”
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St. Clair and her family were not home at the time. Her neighbor Karl Groters said he saw lightning earlier that morning, and his wife later smelled smoke outside. When they looked outside, Groters said he saw smoke coming out of the St. Clair’s chimney and called 911.
“[It] comes straight down throughout the ground, and it was thicker than most of the lightning strikes. As soon as it strikes down, the lightning…it was a loud boom. So, it was close,” Groters said, recalling the lightning. “It’s just a lot of excitement too close to home. Sure glad we caught it when we did.”
St. Clair said while the fire has added extra stresses, she is thankful her family wasn’t home and their pets were saved.
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“At least we’re safe, and that’s all we care about,” she said.
Rainfall persisted throughout parts of North Texas on Tuesday, including Fort Worth. It tapered off for most of the afternoon, with some families stopping by the Trinity River to gaze at the aftermath of heavy rainfall.
Sara Salinas and her family were passing through from West Texas when they decided to stop in Fort Worth.
“[It's] something different for us, because we get rain but not like this,” she said.
Mike Drivdahl, a spokesperson for the Fort Worth Fire Department, said they did not have many weather-related calls on Tuesday but did respond to some car accidents.
The Fort Worth Office of Emergency Management is reminding people to exercise caution on the roads while the flood flash watch is in effect.
