Lightning cause damage to a Wrightsville Beach home today after a strike set fire to the home’s attic, which was extinguished in about 15 minutes by the Wrightsville Beach Fire Department. T
Fire Chief Glen Rogers said that the 1:30 p.m. fire at 1 Sand Dollar Ln. was caused after a lightning strike. There were residents in the house at the time of the fire, Rogers said, and all were safely evacuated. The fire destroyed about half of the home’s attic, but firefighters were able to recover personal items of the residents, he said. The fire caused an estimated $25,000-$50,000 in damage, Rogers said. The two-alarm fire also brought in units from the Wilmington Fire Department, but it was largely under control by that time, Rogers said.
The thunderstorm fire was the third fire in the rain that the town’s fire department have responded to in the past three months. The department put out fires during two separate storms in late April and fought today’s fire during the middle of a deluge.
“We’re getting good at putting out fires in the the pouring rain,” Rogers said. “Our guys were getting soaked today, but despite that, they were able to contain the fire to the attic.”
