Fire crews called to multiple lightning strikes

Fire crews in Mid-Missouri have been called out to multiple reports of buildings getting hit by lightning.

The calls started coming in Monday night and continued into Tuesday morning.

Around 9 a.m. Tuesday, Columbia crews were called out to Kelly’s Ridge for a report that an apartment building 33 had been struck by lightning and smoke was coming from the roof.

Firefighters used a thermal imaging camera and found a small fire in the attic over one of the apartments. Crews were are the scene for two hours to extinguish the fire and find hidden embers.

The Fire Marshal is investigating the exact cause of the fire, but three apartments currently have water damage and are uninhabitable.

Damage is estimated at $35,000, but there were no injuries.

Columbia crews were also called out to a lightning strike investigation in the 2000 block of Shale Ridge.

In Jefferson City, crews were called out to two reports lightning hitting homes Monday night.

One home was in the 400 block of Virginia Trail, where light haze was reported in the attic. The other call came from the 800 block of Airview Drive. That home suffered from smoke and minor fire damage.