Lightning strikes, power outages reported across Boone County

Storms moving across Mid-Missouri on Wednesday caused some damage around the area, including downed tree limbs and possible lightning damage to a home east of Columbia.

At last check, Boone Electric Cooperative reported around 300 people without power in the Wilhite Road area, northwest of Columbia. At one point, nearly 700 people had no electricity.

Shortly before 1 p.m., firefighters went to a home on Brindle Bend Drive, east of Columbia, for reports of a fire. They found damaged beams in the attic, but it’s not yet clear if that was caused by lightning. No one was home at the time, and no one was hurt.

Firefighters went to another reported attic fire on Old Number 7, a road north of Columbia. There was light damage in this case as well, and crews at the scene say it may have been weather related.