Lightning strike causes house fire in Plymouth
File photo: Lightning (Photo by GUILLAUME SOUVANT / AFP) (Photo by GUILLAUME SOUVANT/AFP via Getty Images) (Getty Images)
PLYMOUTH, Minn. (FOX 9) - A lightning strike from overnight storms sparked a house fire in Plymouth early Wednesday morning.
The Plymouth Fire Department said fire crews responded to a house fire just before 2 a.m. and observed flames going through the roof of the home.
People inside the home were alerted by smoke alarms and safely evacuated. Crews extinguished the flames, but the home sustained significant damage, including a partial roof collapse.
Fire officials said a lightning strike caused the fire. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, lightning can reach temperatures around 50,000 degrees and strikes the U.S. around 25 million times per year. To learn more lightening safety tips, visit NOAA's website here.