AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin Fire Department said a house on Rainlilly Lane in West Austin caught on fire after being struck by lightning early Saturday morning.
AFD told KVUE that lightning struck somewhere on the roof line and ran through the electrical wires in the attic. The department said a majority of fire was in the attic, but some moved down to the first floor.
The family will be able to get back inside soon, but fire crews will be staying on the scene a little longer.
"Lightning-strike fires historically travel in many different locations throughout the attic space and electrical system, and so we're going to stay on scene to make sure that all of it is out from the areas we have found through our investigations," said Josh Anderson, captain of Training Division 1, AFD.
AFD said there was minimal damage – firefighters just had to remove some of the ceiling, sheetrock and insulation to get to the wires that were burning behind that.
Firefighters said they responded to a total of four structure fires from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m., all caused by lightning strikes.