ORLANDO, Fla. – A two-alarm fire broke out early Sunday at Lou Holtz's home in Orlando, causing serious damage, according to fire officials.
Video from a helicopter shows a large area of the nearly 10,000-square-feet home charred, melted, and without a roof.
The Orlando Fire Department said firefighters were called to 9209 Cromwell Park Place in the exclusive Lake Nona Golf and Country Club community and found a large fire burning in the upper level of the house.
"The whole back part burned to the ground it seems," said a worker who drove by the home on Monday. "Looks like a total loss to me. Need to bulldoze it."
Two firefighters suffered minor injuries while battling the fire, officials said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but fire officials said it was likely accidental.
Neighbors believe lightning started it during an intense storm early Sunday morning.
"Oh it was pretty bad, you could hear it shake the house every time it hit the floor," said one neighbor.
Fire officials were investigating the home on Monday.
According to WTOV-TV in Ohio, Holtz had an event scheduled for Monday night at the Lou Holtz Upper Ohio Valley Hall of Fame, but he canceled his appearance because his Florida home was destroyed by a fire that was caused by lightning. Former NFL running back Jerome Bettis will fill in for Holtz, WTOV-TV reported.
Holtz coached Notre Dame to the 1988 national championship and recently left ESPN, where he served for years as a college football analyst.