Brier Creek house fire sparked by lightning
A three-alarm fire, caused by a lightning strike, damaged three houses in the Brier Creek area early Sunday, Raleigh fire investigators said.
Posted — UpdatedThe fire started in a two-story house at 11711 Dellcain Court, off Arnold Palmer Drive, around 2:15 a.m., said Battalion Chief Peter Brock, with the Raleigh Fire Department.
Flames were shooting out of the home's second floor and attic when firefighters arrived, and a viewer said the blaze created a glow in the sky.
Sixty firefighters from Raleigh, Morrisville, Durham and Bethesda brought in 15 pieces of equipment to fight the fire. It took an hour-and-a-half to bring it under control.
The heat from the fire caused siding to melt on houses next door to 11711 Dellcain Court, Brock said.
No one was injured, but the home that caught fire was a complete loss. The owners were on vacation and learned of the blaze early Sunday morning from a neighbor.
"He just said, 'I don't have any other way to tell you, but we think your house got struck by lightning and it has burned to the ground,'" neighbor Melissa Kitts recalled.
"I can't image losing your house. Having a happy Fourth of July weekend and coming home and you have nothing left," neighbor Linda Horton said.
One of the homes beside 11711 Dellcain Court was unoccupied and for sale.
Lightning also struck a home two doors down but didn't spark a fire, investigators said.
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