Lightning strike causes a house fire in the Vegas valley

A house in the Southern Highlands area was struck by lightning Saturday and caught fire during the afternoon deluge of rain and flooding.

Robert, a neighbor of the house that was struck on Vemoa Drive, got a call from his wife at about 3:30 p.m. while he was getting his hair cut at a nearby shopping center. She told him there had been a bright flash and thunder “as loud as she’s ever heard it in her 52 years,” he said, and that smoke was coming from a house down the street.

Clark County Fire Department responded and confirmed it was a lightning strike. Robert said firefighters knocked down the front door to get in, and went up the side of the house on ladders to the attic area.

Some flames were seen outside the house, Robert said, and heavy smoke was coming from the ridge of the house’s roof.

No injuries were reported from the residence, and though the extent of inside damage was unknown, there was some visible external damage.