Roof of Menomonee Falls home damaged by lightning



MENOMONEE FALLS -- Storms rolled through the area Thursday afternoon, May 3rd, and one home in Menomonee Falls near Marach and Crestwood was damaged by a lightning strike.

Menomonee Falls fire officials say they got the call just after 3:00 p.m. Neighbors say they heard a "big boom," and the roof of a home was partially torn off. Debris and scraps of wood were scattered throughout the front yard, and officials say some of the debris ended up 100 yards away.

Fortunately, no one was home at the time. Officials say in lightning strikes, you can often see charring, or a fire breaks out, but that did not happen in this case.

The Menomonee Falls home also suffered damage to the garage and a car inside.

There is no word on the estimated cost of the damage at this time. The homeowners were talking with their insurance company Thursday.

Neighbor Julie Dieck described the blast saying, "I felt like I was standing next to a rifle that was just being shot off. Some of the debris was actually in our yard - that's how powerful the blast was. Thank goodness (the homeowners) were at work," Dieck said.

Martha Hood says her home, only two houses down, was truck by lightning in November of 2005. The home has been rebuilt and her family was displaced for nearly a year.

Thursday's storm soaked the ground and uprooted trees in Thiensville - serving as a reminder of how powerful Mother Nature can be.