Pocono News Section

Lightning Strike Starts Fire in Shamokin

Lightning Strike Starts Fire in Shamokin - Sunday, May 17, 2009 at 6:21PM EST

SHAMOKIN, NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY- A bolt of lightning during a thunderstorm may have sparked a fire at a home.
Flames broke out Saturday night around 9:00 in Shamokin at a home in the 600-block of East Webster Street. No one was home at the time.

Fire crews had to break in to fight the flames. The owner's daughter says the lightning traveled through the home. Skyler Dornsife said, "There was a storm and the lightning hit that pole up there and it went down into the basement into the power box and went down to my dryer and it caught fire."

A family cat didn't make it out of the home. Dornsife says there's heavy fire damage in the basement and smoke damage to the rest of the house.

An investigation into the exact cause is underway.