The Northwest Florida Daily News
SANTA ROSA BEACH. Fla. — In a little more than an hour Saturday morning, the South Walton Fire District responded to five structure fires caused by lightning strikes.
The first occurred at 9:23 a.m. and the last was at 10:27 a.m., according to a news release from the Fire District.
The first structure hit was on Melrose Avenue in Santa Rosa Beach. It sustained minimal damage.
Ten minutes later, a call came in for three more structures that had been struck by lightning on Santa Barbara Avenue. The call involved two neighboring houses and a carriage house on one of the properties.
Those buildings sustained varying degrees of damage to air conditioning units, sheet rock, electrical panels, siding, a pool enclosure and a lawn sprinkler pump.
It appeared that one lightning strike damaged all three buildings, the release said.
The third call was for a reported direct lightning strike of a home on Dill Ave in the Rosemary Beach area.
Crews were able to contain the fire damage to the attic. The home’s sprinkler system also helped limit the damage.
All of the structures were occupied when lightning hit, but no injuries were reported.
There were no immediate damage estimates.
The Bay County Fire Department and Destin Fire Control District provided mutual aid.
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(c)2016 the Northwest Florida Daily News (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.)