CARY, N.C. — The rumble of thunderstorms packed quite a punch across the Triangle Wednesday evening.

Lightning sparked a fire at a house in Preston Village. The force of the lightning bolt demolished the chimney.

"I saw a big bolt of lightning. It hit something. Then I heard a big crack and I ran in my house," neighbor Andrew Samha said.

The fire chief on the scene said the fire started at the base of the house on Caviston Way Road. Flames inched up the walls and into the attic.

Damage estimates could exceed $200,000. The family was not home at the time.

Lightning is also to blame for another house fire about a half mile away on the 1100 block of Crabtree Crossing in Morrisville. The fire chief said it appears the fire started in the attic.

There is no word yet on the amount of damage. No one was hurt.