An apparent lighting strike destroyed a home Saturday evening in The Villages.
A brutal storm with heavy lightning, thunder and hail moved through The Villages at about 6 p.m. and a bolt appears to have struck a home at 1893 Lancaster Lane in the Village of Winifred.
Multiple units from The Villages Public Safety Department battled the blaze, which had tall flames shooting from the structure and creating billowing smoke visible from a distance.
The homeowners, Jim and Barb Goehler, are at their second residence in Wisconsin. They only recently departed Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.
Barb Goehler’s brother, Jim Riley, lives in the Village of Caroline. He was at the scene of the destruction, relaying photos and information to his sister.
“She is a nurse so she is used to trauma,” Riley said.
The entire neighborhood turned out to watch firefighters battling the blaze. They were thankful their homes had been spared, but also felt for their neighbor at the loss of their property. They described the lightning and hail as “terrifying” as it pounded their neighborhood.
The blaze in Winifred follows two other fires earlier in the week in the Village of Charlotte and the Village of McClure.