ORLANDO, Fla. – A lightning strike and a waterspout caught on camera capped a wild weather day in Central Florida on Monday.
A lightning strike that wasn’t caught on camera ignited a house fire on Monday night in the Waterford Lakes community, as reported by Orange County Fire Rescue. Officials mentioned that the fire ignited around 6:30 p.m. on Blue Water Circle, causing significant damage to the home’s attic.
One person was inside the house at the time but escaped safely, fire officials confirmed.
Neighbors said they heard a loud strike just before the fire broke out.
“We were in the living room and heard the lightning strike. She screamed, everyone got scared, and then we heard the ambulance and fire trucks,” a neighbor recounted to News 6.
Another resident added, “I was inside the house and heard a really loud lightning, then saw a bright white flash.“
Despite the dramatic scene, officials said the fire was mostly contained to the attic.
“We’ve lived here for 30 years and so have they. Never have we ever had something like that happen,” a neighbor said.
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About a mile away, Deseret Shearer was on her porch when she recorded what appeared to be a waterspout sweeping over a pond behind her home.
“The wind began to build slowly, and then the trees started swaying wildly, so I thought something was trying to form. I expected it might be a small dust devil, just a tiny thing, but it kept growing larger and spinning, drawing up water, turning it white, and started to move,” Shearer explained.
Shearer said she plans to keep her camera ready during future storms.
Orange County officials used the incident of the house fire to remind residents of the importance of having working smoke detectors in their homes. No injuries were reported.
A NEWS 6 viewer from Edgewater sent in video of what they described as lightning hitting a tree in front of their home.
[See the dramatic video below of the lightning strike below]
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