Thousands of Durham residents without power Saturday night after storm knocks down power lines, trees
Storms moved into the Triangle on Saturday afternoon, prompting several warnings in the area.
A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for parts of Wake and Durham counties until 4:45 p.m. and Chatham and Harnett counties until 4:15 p.m. A flash flood warning also was in effect for Wake, Durham and Chatham counties until 6:30 p.m.
A bolt of lightning caused several trees to catch on fire on Mount Herman Road behind the Triangle Shooting Academy in Raleigh.
The lightning hit shortly after 4 p.m., officials said. A U-Haul and storage unit were damaged from the fire.
"We had some prolific lightning this afternoon," said WRAL meteorologist Zach Maloch.
The reason for intense lightning is because it's so hot near the ground, cooler temperatures above the ground make for unstable air.
Power outage
Not too far from the fire, thousands of Duke Energy customers are experiencing a power outage due to downed power lines and trees.
5,000 customers who live near Fayetteville Road, in the Crooked Creek, Hope Valley and Woodcroft communities are experiencing a power outage.
At one point, there were about 50,000 customers without power across the state.
Power was expected to be restored at around midnight, Duke Energy says. At 6 a.m. Sunday, there were still around 800 without power in south Durham.
