Storm Report: Lightning Fires, Trees Down, But No Major Damage, Injuries

The strong thunderstorms that quickly roared through Gwinnett County Sunday afternoon had emergency responders busy during a three-hour window.

Crews responded to calls from Buford to Grayson as storms moved through between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday.

During the height of the storm, Gwinnett Fire crews responded to 81 incidents. “Fortunately, there were no reports of major damage and no serious injuries as a result of the storm,” Gwinnett Fire Capt. Tommy Rutledge said in a storm activity report emailed late Sunday afternoon.

House fires from lightning strikes were reported in Buford, Grayson, Snellville and Lawrenceville. A business fire on Hamilton Mill Road also was attributed to lightning.

Trees and wires were knocked down and heavy rains caused ponding on some roads.

From Gwinnett Fire Storm Response Activity report:

HOUSE FIRES

(there was no major damage as a result of any of the fire incidents and most appeared to be good intent calls. Not all listed below were actual working incidents)

• Firefighters responded at 1:47p.m. to a report of a residential fire in the 400 block of Laurel Run, off of Mountain Ridge Circle, NE in Buford/Sugar Hill. The call originated as an alarm ringing from the monitoring company and was upgraded to a full assignment due to an occupant report of smoke inside the house. Crews found a small smoldering fire in the attic on arrival that was quickly extinguished. The fire was believed to be the result of lightning.There were no injuries reported.
• Firefighters responded at 2:46p.m. to an occupant report of a house fire in the 2800 block of Wildflower Lane, SW in Snellville. The caller advised that the house was possibly struck by lightning. There was no sign of smoke or fire on arrival and no major damage to the structure. It appears that a piece of the exterior siding was knocked off the house due to lightning. There were no injuries reported.
• Firefighters responded at 2:48p.m. to a neighbor report of a possible house fire in the 100 block of Lendon Lane, NE in Lawrenceville. The caller reported smoke coming from the back of the house. It was unknown by the neighbor whether anyone was inside the house. Crews found a small trash fire behind the house on arrival. There was no damage to the structure and no injuries reported.
• Firefighters responded at 3:22p.m. to an occupant report of a house fire due to lightning in the 1900 block of Pinehurst View Court, SW in Grayson. The caller reported smoke inside the house and all occupants evacuated. Crews found a small smoldering fire in the laundry room on arrival. The fire was quickly extinguished and there were no injuries reported.

SMOKE REPORTS

(there was no major damage as a result of any of the smoke reports and most appeared to be good intent calls)

• Firefighters responded at 2:33p.m. to an occupant report of a smoke odor inside a residence in the 500 block of Creek Mist Court, NE in Suwanee. Caller advised that lightning possibly hit an electrical outlet in the basement. There was no actual fire or smoke showing on arrival. There was no damage to the structure and no injuries reported.
• Firefighters responded at 2:20p.m. to a report of a smoke odor inside an apartment in the 1000 block of Level Creek Road, NE in Buford. The caller reported a smoke odor. There was no sign of smoke or fire showing on arrival and no damage to the structure. There were no injuries reported.
• Firefighters responded at 2:25p.m. to an occupant report of a smoke odor inside the house and electrical problems in the 200 Sagamore Cove, NE in Buford. Crews found a small smoldering fire inside the wall that was quickly extinguished. The fire may have been the result of a lightning strike. There were no injuries reported.
• Firefighters responded at 2:29p.m. to an occupant report of smoke inside a residence in the 2300 block of Coinsborough Way, NE in Buford. The caller reported a smell of smoke inside the house from a possible lightning strike. There was no visible sign of smoke or fire on arrival and no injuries reported. There was no damage to the structure.

BUSINESS FIRE

• Firefighters responded at 3:00p.m. to a report of a business fire at the Kenerly Building (in front of the Walmart) on Hamilton Mill Road near Ridge Road in Buford. The caller reported a lightning strike to an electrical box at the back of the building. There was no visible fire or smoke showing on arrival and no damage to the building.

PONDING WATER

(there were no reports of homes or roads damaged due to ponding water)

• Firefighters responded at 2:11p.m. to a report of possible ponding water in the 5400 block of White Cedar Terrace, NE in Buford. Crews found a large amount of water accumulating in a residential culde-sac. There did not appear to be any water inside the surrounding structures and the water was beginning to recede as the storm passed. There were no injuries reported.
• Fire crews responding to incidents in the Buford area reported water washing across the roadway on Sycamore Road (at the bottom of the street) near Sugar Ridge. The ponding of water appeared to be caused by torrential rains as the storm moved across the area. Water began to recede as the storm passed. There was no major damage reported.

TREE DOWN ON HOUSE

• Firefighters responded to a report of a tree down on a house in the 100 block of Pine Valley Terrace, SE in Lawrenceville. Crews found a tree that fell close to the house and caused only minor cosmetic damage to an outside wall as the limbs brushed against it. There was no major damage to the structure and no injuries were reported.

TREE DOWN IN ROADWAY

• Crews responded to a report from a passing motorist of a tree down in the roadway in the 1800 block of Sacketts Drive, NE in Lawrenceville. Crews found a large tree that was blocking the eastbound lanes of Sacketts Drive near Buford Drive. There were no power lines involved and PD was requested to stand-by.
• Firefighters responded to a report of a tree down in the roadway on Hurricane Shoals at Progress Center Avenue in Lawrenceville. The caller reported a tree that fell blocking the roadway. There were no injuries reported.