Lightning strikes...and the thunder rolls

A storm knocked out our internet for several days...but now that we are back online, here's what happened this week:

Last night I went to bed early, because I wasn’t feeling well. Not sick, exactly, just uneasy. I figured I was just tired and would feel better in the morning. But I couldn’t sleep. I lay in bed tossing and turning for several hours with a nagging feeling that something was about to happen. I seriously considered calling my family, afraid that something might be wrong there. But it was late. It had to be the intense thunder and lightning storm raging outside that was putting me on edge, right? Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to happen.

About 12:30am, still unable to sleep, I got up to unplug our laptop from the wall outlet. I was worried that a lightning strike might hit nearby and cause a power surge that could fry it. That must have been what was bothering me, right? Tragic foreshadowing. Then I went back to bed and actually fell asleep this time. About 1:00am, a huge lightning strike hit. The light was so brilliant and the bang so loud and so instantaneous that Michael and I both bolted up out of bed. So did Anne. We chatted about it for a bit then Anne and Scott went back to bed. Michael went out for a smoke and then back to bed. There was no chance of me going to sleep. I was still on edge. Besides, there was a good episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on TV.

Ten minutes later, I went out for a cigarette of my own. And the house across the street was on fire. Smoke was billowing out from under the roof. I ran back in the house and shouted to Michael. He got Anne and Scott up. They started calling 911 while Michael and I threw on shoes and clothes and ran across the street to see if anyone was still in the house. Smartly, whoever had been in the house had left their door open when they left, which told us no one was in there. Still, we shouted and shouted but got no response. Michael wanted to run in and check the rooms, but I wasn’t about to let him or anyone else run in there with no indication that someone was inside. All we could do was coax the dogs away from the house. That’s when we saw the first flames licking through the roof. At that point it was all over. A few minutes later the homeowners showed up. They had been down the street at the neighbors probably using their phone. 20 minutes later the first fire truck came. Over the next 2 hours, fire trucks continued to arrive as we watched the house burn to the ground.

We believe the house was struck by lightning and suspect that it was the metal roof that attracted it.

Here’s video:

And the house the next morning: