As I left work on the evening of August 25, the clouds were dark and ominous and threatening rain. I hoped that I would get home before the downpour began. I got to the intersection at Rawlinsville (about 5 minutes from home) and although the clouds were even darker, I still hadn't driven in rain. As I pulled away from the stop sign, I was amazed when the sky ahead broke out into zigzagging lightning streaks right after the other. It was kind of like watching popcorn fireworks. I hadn't gone far when the rain began to pelt my windshield. I was so close to home, that I decided to keep going and I slowly inched along until with relief I pulled into our driveway.
It was still raining very hard and Steve was in the office. He said that he had just seen an amazing thing. As the storm was getting stronger he was debating if he should turn off the computer. He looked out the window and almost immediately he saw lightning strike the ground between the shop driveway and the cornfield. The corn field lit up and sizzled with electricity and approximately 10 scared deer came running out of the cornfield and took off for the park area. He also saw the same scenario that I described of the lightning streaks that popped up constantly and zigzagged across the sky.
We sat in the office and chatted as we watched the rain and listened to the thunder. There continued to be loud cracks of thunder and the sky came alight with the lightning that followed it. Suddenly an enormous crash followed by sizzling lightning sent both of us out of our seats. "Where did that hit?" we both wondered. We looked out every window and could see nothing that appeared to be on fire so we finally figured that it hadn't caused any damage. Our electric had blinked off, but it came back on so everything seemed fine.
About 5 minutes later, Steve commented that fog must be settling in, as he could see it hovering over the neighbor's house as he looked out the window. We both went for a closer view and then we realized it wasn't fog at all. Our neighbor's house was on fire!
We ran outside and saw other neighbors beginning to congregate on the yard outside Ron & Sally's* house. Someone had already called 911 and soon the firetrucks started arriving. A neighbor had alerted Ron who was home but unaware of the fire which had started in the attic. Sally was grocery shopping and did not have a cell phone with her, so there was no way to contact her. I felt really sorry for her, when she came home to fire trucks lined up and down the road and the realization that it was her house they were there for.
We joined the neighbors and watched as the firefighters put out the fire.
The two closest neighbors described what happened in their houses when the lightning struck. In the one house, all the electrical sockets sizzled and smoke came out of them. In the other one, every electrical appliance came on--dishwasher, microwave, stove, etc. Even the smoke detectors! Amazingly, they did not lose electric except for a brief couple seconds like we had.
The firefighters soon had the fire out and Ron and Sally were left to view the damage. It was too early to tell if the house was completely ruined or if it would be able to be repaired. They went to a motel for the night.
The next morning I was amazed when I looked out the kitchen window and saw firetrucks again lining the road and firefighters running into Ron & Sally's house. The fire had started up again overnight! This time, it was much worse and it was soon apparent that the house could not be saved. Along with the smoke and fire damage, the water they sprayed to douse the fire had ruined everything. When I walked into the house later, it felt like I was walking on wet newspapers. Wet drywall had fallen from the ceilings and lay on the floor in a soggy mess.
Neighbors helped Ron & Sally carry some of their things outside and Steve offered one of his trailers for them to store things in. They were grateful and accepted his offer. I was working at the store and we decided to feed those who were helping with cleanup so I made sandwiches and added chips and drink and took it to them around lunch time.
By that time, the insurance people had arrived and they requested that nothing else be removed from the house so there wasn't a whole lot more to do. Basically, everyone just stood around and talked. We all felt very sorry for Ron & Sally.
Ron & Sally's house will be rebuilt but in the meantime, they needed a place to live. In a quirk of fate (or God's timing), our tenant that lived in our mobile home was leaving the end of August. We offered Ron & Sally the home and they were incredibly thankful and relieved to be able to have a place close by while their house is built.
They moved in on September 6 and for the next six months to a year (until their house is rebuilt) we will receive a check from their insurance company each month for rent for the mobile home. Even though having your house burn down is an awful thing, its amazing how little things come together to make it bearable. I am sure once it is all over, Ron & Sally will love their new home and hopefully be able to focus on what they still have and not what they lost.
**Since I didn't ask permission, to use their names, Ron & Sally are not their real names.
