Lightning Caused One Of Two Snellville Fires: Officials

SNELLVILLE, GA — Lightning from the storms that moved through the area was the cause of one of two house fires in the Snellville area on Thursday evening.

The lightning strike happened some time shortly before 7 p.m., at a house on the 4900 block of Rosebud Drive. Firefighters arrived to find flames burning in the attack of the one-story house.

A teenager was at home and told firefighters that lightning had struck the house, according to Gwinnett Fire & Emergency Services spokesman Capt. Tommy Rutledge.

The teen had seen smoke and gotten the family's pets out of the house, escaping unharmed.

The blaze caused extensive damage to the attic and smoke and water damage in the home's main living space. Flames broke through the roof around a dormer before firefighters could bring them under control.

No one was injured, but the family will be displaced because of the fire, Rutledge said.

A little over an hour earlier, a mobile home caught fire on the 4200 block of Smoke Creek Parkway.

Firefighters were called at 5:41 p.m. to the home, which they found billowing smoke. The home's occupants, one adult and three children, were already outside and safe.

Fire crews worked quickly and the fire was brought under control within five minutes of their arrival. The blaze caused moderate damage to the mobile home.

Rutledge said the adult woman who lived in the home was cooking and got briefly distracted by her children. She returned to find the kitchen on fire and got everyone out of the home.

The American Red Cross was contacted to provide assistance for the two adults and three children displaced by the fire.

File photo courtesy Gwinnett Fire & Emergency Services