Flames reportedly shot out of a kitchen sink during the early morning Thursday, Oct. 10, after lightning struck a home on N. Washington Street.
Cortez Fire Protection District Chief Jeff Vandevoorde said crews were called to 609 N. Washington St. about 5 a.m. Thursday for the lightning strike, which appeared to have struck a television antenna on the roof, sending an electrical surge through the home.
“The TV cables on the outside wall were blown off and fried,” Vandevoorde said. “The lightning blew out a gas meter, destroyed the phone lines and caused a water main to break.”
No injuries were reported, and utility crews remained on the scene as of 8:30 Thursday morning to repair the broken water line and gas meter, Vandevoorde said.
While on the scene, fire crews received four additional 911 emergency calls, all within a half-hour of their initial dispatch. Vandevoorde said part-time and volunteer fire crews helped man the station and respond to another structure fire on N. Ash Street, two natural gas emergencies and an emergency medical incident.
“This all happened within 30 minutes,” Vandevoorde said Thursday morning. “We’re hoping not to receive any more calls.”
As of press time, power had been restored to all impacted residences, except for the home on N. Washington, Vandevoorde said.
“We took a pretty major hit this morning, but the crews did a great job,” he added. “We made a lot of people happy.”
