Beckley - A lightning strike during a thunderstorm late Sunday afternoon knocked out several computers and the computer network at Southern Communications, the parent company of WCIR, Groovy 94.1, WTNJ and several other radio stations.

Jay Quesenberry, general manager for Southern Communications, which is located in the old Appalachian Electric Power building on South Kanawha Street, said all of the stations went off air briefly until a backup system took over.

"We were hit pretty hard," he said. "We depend on computers so much so it was a pretty hard hit."

Radio stations in particular, Quesenberry said, are vulnerable because of the radio antennas located around the building.

Quesenberry said crews worked Sunday night to repair the damage and would continue working Monday evening.

The monetary damage caused by the lightning strike is not yet known.