STANDISH, Maine — Severe weather hit western Maine Tuesday night, with lightning strikes setting fire to at least two homes.
Ferocious winds caused huge trees to fall, littering roadways and bringing down power lines in western Maine.
One lightning strike almost immediately set the second floor of a Naples home on fire, with a neighbor saying the noise was the loudest she’d ever heard.
“‘Boom,’ it was the loudest I’ve ever heard it crash,” neighbor Laurie Frizzell said.
“They were sitting in the front living room area, right where it was struck by lightning,” Naples Fire Chief Justin Cox said. “And instantly it was [on] fire.”
However, the family was not injured in the fire, officials said.
Another house fire was started after lightning struck a house on Sleepy Hollow Road in Windham. Neither of the two homeowners were home at the time of the fire, according to Windham Fire Chief Brent Libby.
“Damage is some charring up in the attic over one of the bedrooms, but otherwise with some repairs it should be in good shape,” Libby said.
Lightning also caused some damage to a house in Standish, leaving a hole in the foundation of the home after striking a nearby tree. The owner reported that they didn’t notice any fire after the lightning strike.
“It happens when we get a summer storm,” Libby said. “Usually, it tends to be a hit or miss, so we all work together. When this call came in, some of our units were in Standish assisting them because they had several calls. So, we all come together and work together to make the response happen.”
