Lightning strike starts deck fire

The deck of a Columbus home received about $3,000 in damage in a fire Friday evening.

Columbus firefighters say that a lightning strike started the fire on Bayside Court at about 8 p.m., says Capt. Mike Wilson, spokesman for the Columbus Fire Department. The strike hit between two homes, causing circuit breakers to flip in a neighboring home. Those owners were checking the outside of the home for damage when they noticed the fire on the neighbors’ deck, coming close to a gas grill.

Wilson said firefighters use a hose to quickly extinguish the deck fire. They also noticed that a clothes dryer vent had melted and smoke had gotten into the house through the vent, but it caused little damage except to a load of laundry in the dryer.

Columbus Fire Department Inspector Matt Noblitt estimated damages at $3,000. No one was injured in the fire.