Lightning strikes Jacksonville home, causes fire, witness says

Aftermath of home struck by lightning (WJXT)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A lightning strike from a storm hit a Northside home Sunday afternoon and started a fire, a woman who was in the house told News4JAX.

Kyndall Kabanda was in the house on Jerry Adams Drive in the Garden City neighborhood when the lightning struck. She said it was around noon when she was watching TV and heard a loud bang.

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“I went to the front of the house where my living room and dining room were and noticed the lights went out there, but the lights in the back of the house were still on. I went to the breaker in the garage, and I went to see if I could use the switches to turn them back on and off to see if that would do anything,” Kabanda said. “The lights did come back on after I used the switches, but the Wi-Fi was still out. Then I started smelling smoke but didn’t see any, so I looked outside my window and there was smoke outside.”

Kabanda said she went outside and saw smoke coming from the roof.

“I realized after that’s what happened, the roof caught on fire due to lightning,” Kabanda said.

A neighbor called the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department. According to the Kabanda, it took JFRD 45 minutes to get the situation under control.

“At first they just let the rain put the fire out because it was raining at the time it happened. Then after that, I saw some hoses come out, but I’m not sure where they sprayed,” Kabanda said.

All of the damage was in the attic, she said, and the house sustained water installation damage from the fire. The downstairs area wasn’t affected.

Kabanda was the only person in the house at the time of the incident.

No injuries were reported.


About the Author:

As a proud alumnus of Bethune-Cookman University, Kendra is a Jacksonville native, who loves all things lifestyle-related.