Lightning storm rolls through the Valley
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The sweet sound of rain. July has brought a summer storm along with it.
Lightning is being blamed for a fire at Brawley and Belmont avenues in West Central Fresno. Lightning struck a set of palm trees, igniting the fronds, which then fell onto the roof of a house. Firefighters were able to quickly knock down the flames. Fire officials say it was a busy night.
"Tonight is going crazy out here. We've got multiple lightning strikes directly to the ground. Everywhere you could look you were seeing ground strikes," said Battalion Chief Don Bier with the Fresno Fire Department.
Fire crews across the Valley were on high alert, anticipating the lightning to spark fires. The small amount of rain that fell did nothing to ease their concerns. Several small vegetation fires were reported overnight. Firefighters were able to get a handle on them pretty quickly.
Lightning strikes were seen throughout Fresno, including a huge bolt caught on our Downtown Fresno Skycam. After this bolt struck the ground and hit a transformer on Van Ness Avenue and Divisadero Street, the power in the area went out. Several outages were reported overnight, but for most residents the power is back on.
And several #abc30insiders sent us video via Twitter and Facebook Wednesday night.
