Lightning Sparks Fires In 5 Suburbs
UPDATED 03/21/11 9:55 a.m.
ST. CHARLES, Ill. (CBS) -- Lightning sparked five home fires in the west and northwest suburbs over the past 24 hours.
Separate strikes sparked fires in Palatine, St. Charles, Lake Barrington, Crystal Lake and Round Lake.
In the St. Charles blaze, firefighters responded at 11:08 a.m. Sunday, after a neighbor reported a house struck by lightning at 6-N-004 Westwood Lane in St. Charles, according to a release from the St. Charles Fire Department.
Upon arrival, firefighters found smoke coming from the roof of an occupied two-story residential building, the release said. The blaze was contained to the roof area and extinguished in about 30 minutes.
The blaze caused about $25,000 damage to the building and about $5,000 damage to its contents, the release said.
Lighting struck a single-family home at 110 W. King Arthur Ct. in Palatine about 3:15 p.m. and started a fire, Palatine Fire Dept. Chief Robert Falardeau said.
The residents were home at the time but no injuries were reported. Firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the blaze and damage was limited to an upper level of the home, Falardeau said.
The Palatine fire broke out around 3:15 p.m. Sunday, when lightning struck a single-family home at 110 W. King Arthur Ct. Palatine Fire Dept. Chief Robert Falardeau said.
The residents were home at the time but no injuries were reported. Firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the blaze and damage was limited to an upper level of the home, Falardeau said.
Lightning struck the roof of the home and the fire caused about $18,000 in damages, he said.
The Crystal Lake fire completely destroyed a home. Emergency crews responded at 3:42 p.m. Sunday to a fire in the 5900 block of Marietta Drive near Crystal Lake and found an attached garage fully engulfed in flames, according to a release from the McHenry County Sheriff's office.
The man who lived in the home safely exited with his dog, the release said. He said he heard thunder as smoke detectors activated. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
The home was deemed a complete loss, the release said.
The Lake Barrington fire broke out just after 4 p.m., in a third-floor attic in the 38800 block of Fox Street, the Daily Herald reported. The homeowners were in the house at the time, the newspaper reported.
A fifth strike happened in a townhome in the 600 block of Kristina Lane in Round Lake, according to the Lake-County News Sun. Three occupied homes in the four-story building had to be evacuated, according to the newspaper.
No one was injured in any of the fires.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
