The aftermath of a fire that was caught by lightning Aug. 22, 2022 in Kelowna.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Denise Campbell

Last week’s lightning storm did more than light up the sky, it caused a house fire in Kelowna.

Dennis and Denise Campbell were standing inside their Clifton Road home Aug. 22 at roughly 7 p.m. when they heard a loud crack.

"It was supersonic, it was crazy. We both just jumped out of our skin,” Denise said.

The couple heard screaming from the neighbours yelling fire and rushed outside. Neighbours were watching across the street and saw lightning strike the house.

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The lightning strike had hit a metal flue on the couple’s chimney and travelled down to the ground, striking a gas line that fueled a fire. Flames were crawling up the side of the house, Denise said.

“It basically wiped out the electricity. All the electronic things in the house blew,” Denise said.

They gathered hoses and had help from neighbours who brought fire extinguishers to battle the blaze.

“At that time, we had just got it out when the fire crew came and it had gone into the crawl space and started burning all the insulation,” she said, adding they had to replace multiple electronics like answering machines, phones, their hot tub and garage door since the fire.

There was some smoke damage and some repairs needed to be done to the electrical wiring and outlets on the inside of the house, she said.

“We were so grateful it didn’t get worse because we were home and our neighbours saw it and everyone banded together and got that fire out,” she said.

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She was grateful to the neighbours and firefighters who contained the blaze.

In the last 10 years, the Kelowna Fire Department has responded to two house fires that were started by a lightning strike, including the one last week, said deputy fire chief Scott Cronquist.

Firefighters do respond to a fair number of grass fires that could have been started by lightning but house fires are rare, he said.

When firefighters arrived, they opened up parts of the home to ensure it hadn’t spread further within the walls.

This is the second time a lightning strike has been reported to cause a house fire in the Interior. Earlier this month, a house caught fire in Savona due to a strike.

READ MORE: Lightning strike sparks house fire in Savona

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