George and Jan Head were sitting in the Florida room of their Village of Lynnhaven home watching television when lightning struck their house at about 4 p.m. Saturday.
“It was one of those when the lightning and thunder struck simultaneously,” George Head said. “There was a bright light followed by an orange light.”
He said he opened the blinds to look and see which neighbor had been struck by lightning.
He and his wife soon smelled smoke and realized it was their home at 861 Evelynton Loop that had been hit.
“You grab the things you need, your keys and wallet,” George Head said.
They called 911. They were soon nearly overcome by smoke and out the door.
Lightning burned out an 8-inch diameter hole in the roof of the garage, said George Head, who taught high school Spanish in Rhode Island.
He and his wife moved to The Villages four years ago.
The couple’s Hyundai Sonata and 2010 golf cart, parked in the garage, were destroyed in the fire.
They spent Saturday night with a neighbor.
For the moment they are picking up the pieces and believe they are fortunate that they escaped injury.
This is the second lightning-ignited fire in The Villages this summer.
On June 15, Kris and Bruce Boschert of the Village of Pinellas at Evans Prairie returned home from a weekend trip to find that their home had been destroyed by a lightning strike.
You can read more about that incident at the link below:
http://villages-news.com/couple-returns-weekend-trip-survey-fire-damage-home/
