A lightning strike is to blame for a Washington, Illinois house fire this morning. No injuries were reported.
The fire at 301 Hale St. started about 3:30 a.m. after lightning hit a tree, causing the tree to split in half and fall on the house.
Before firefighters arrived, the homeowner, whose name was not immediately available, attempted to put out the blaze with an extinguisher and garden hose. It took firefighters another 20 minutes to douse the fire, which they were able to contain to an upstairs bedroom, Washington Assistant Fire Chief Randy Hurd said.
Storms
Rain and thunderstorms that passed through metro Atlanta early Sunday were blamed for a fire that severely damaged a Gwinnett County home.
Gwinnett fire officials believe a lightning strike ignited the roof of a two-story home on Aberrone Place in Buford, said Capt. Thomas Rutledge, a department spokesman.
The lightning was part of a system that moved through the metro area before dawn, said Griffith.
Gwinnett fire officials believe a lightning strike ignited the roof of a two-story home on Aberrone Place in Buford, said Capt. Thomas Rutledge, a department spokesman.
The lightning was part of a system that moved through the metro area before dawn, said Griffith.
Junction City, CA - Scattered showers forecast for California's northern mountains Sunday are unlikely to extinguish wildfires that still threaten homes and could bring more lightning to the charred region, fire officials said.
The weather system is not expected to bring enough rain to have any effect on several huge blazes that have burned for nearly a month, said Pete Munoa, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
A bigger concern is thunderstorms predicted to accompany the system.
But fire officials said cooler temperatures mean lightning strikes don't pose as much of a threat as they did a month ago, when storms sparked nearly 2,100 fires that have burned almost 1 million acres.
"The weather pattern, if it holds the way it is now, we should be able to get a foothold around these fires," Munoa said.
In the rural town of Junction City, residents were under mandatory evacuation orders for a third day Sunday as flames crept across the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. The month-old fire had spread to nearly 87 square miles by Sunday and was 49 percent contained.
The weather system is not expected to bring enough rain to have any effect on several huge blazes that have burned for nearly a month, said Pete Munoa, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
A bigger concern is thunderstorms predicted to accompany the system.
But fire officials said cooler temperatures mean lightning strikes don't pose as much of a threat as they did a month ago, when storms sparked nearly 2,100 fires that have burned almost 1 million acres.
"The weather pattern, if it holds the way it is now, we should be able to get a foothold around these fires," Munoa said.
In the rural town of Junction City, residents were under mandatory evacuation orders for a third day Sunday as flames crept across the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. The month-old fire had spread to nearly 87 square miles by Sunday and was 49 percent contained.
Richfield - A Sevier County woman beat the odds after getting struck by lightning and surviving. Experts say those odds are 1 in 700,000.
Beijing -- Many of the basics of lightning have been revealed, but scientists admit they don't really understand how lighting gets from one place to another and lightning link to X-rays is still a mystery.
"Nobody understands how lightning makes X-rays," says Martin Uman, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Florida. "Despite reaching temperatures five times hotter than the surface of the sun, the temperature of lightning is still thousands of times too cold to account for the X-rays observed.
"It's obviously happening. And we have put limits on how it's happening and where it's happening."
As lightning comes down from a cloud, it moves in steps, each 30 to 160 feet long. In this "step leader" process, X-rays shoot out just below each step millionths of a second after the step completes, the researchers learned.
"Nobody understands how lightning makes X-rays," says Martin Uman, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Florida. "Despite reaching temperatures five times hotter than the surface of the sun, the temperature of lightning is still thousands of times too cold to account for the X-rays observed.
"It's obviously happening. And we have put limits on how it's happening and where it's happening."
As lightning comes down from a cloud, it moves in steps, each 30 to 160 feet long. In this "step leader" process, X-rays shoot out just below each step millionths of a second after the step completes, the researchers learned.
MOSCOW -- Lightning has killed and injured more than a dozen people in Russia in the past two weeks, officials say, blaming widespread use of electronic gadgets such as cell phones for an increase in deadly strikes.
Three people, including two teenagers, were killed and five injured, when they were struck by lightning in the Russian Volga Republic of Bashkortostan, a local emergencies spokesman said on Thursday.
Four people were injured by lightning at a Blue Angels air show at Pensacola Beach on Saturday afternoon, authorities said.
Gulf Breeze Hospital spokeswoman Candy McGuyre said 10 people were taken to the hospital from the show with various injuries, including four people injured by lightning. None of those injuries were considered life-threatening.
Gulf Breeze Hospital spokeswoman Candy McGuyre said 10 people were taken to the hospital from the show with various injuries, including four people injured by lightning. None of those injuries were considered life-threatening.
Five young lives have been ended by lightning in less than a week, a deadly reminder of one of summer's leading hazards.
"Typically, July marks the peak in lightning activity. It's also the time when people are vacationing, so they are outside and they are vulnerable to lightning," said John Jensenius, a lightning safety expert at the National Weather Service.
But why so many young people in a few days? "I don't have an answer for that," Jensenius said, "It's all very sad."
"Typically, July marks the peak in lightning activity. It's also the time when people are vacationing, so they are outside and they are vulnerable to lightning," said John Jensenius, a lightning safety expert at the National Weather Service.
But why so many young people in a few days? "I don't have an answer for that," Jensenius said, "It's all very sad."
Crews rushed to a home on School Street in Belmont Monday night after it was struck by lightning. The strike sparked a fire on the roof. Fire crews quickly put the flames out and no one was hurt.
Cool and unsettled weather will continue through the rest of this work week. Temperatures will slowly moderate by this weekend but there will be a continued threat for showers and thunderstorms into early next week.
Cool and unsettled weather will continue through the rest of this work week. Temperatures will slowly moderate by this weekend but there will be a continued threat for showers and thunderstorms into early next week.
