AUSTIN, Texas - A strong line of storms ripped through the Austin-area Monday morning, leaving behind damage in its path.
At the peak of the storm just after midnight, the Austin Fire Department was called to a single-family home in the 4401 block of Creede Drive after a report of heavy flames.
I believe neighbors house caught on fire due to a lightning strike in the Colorado Crossing neighborhood, hope everyones safe #atxweather pic.twitter.com/OZaqwYSaNJ
— Richard P. (@GuitarGuyATX) February 20, 2017
When crews arrived on the scene, they found everyone in the residence had evacuated and they began defensive measures on the blaze.
At 1 a.m. Austin Fire Info reported that they had the fire under control. Their initial belief for the cause of the fire is that lightning struck the top of the house, starting the fire in the attic. The home suffered significant damage, but estimates for the total amount won't be revealed until the investigation is complete.
An hour and a half later, fire crews were called back out to a commercial building near East Ben White Boulevard and five minutes away from the house fire location.
Officials said strong winds ripped off the roof of the building in the 4918 block of Burleson Road and caused a partial collapse of a wall. Damage estimates for that location also won't be revealed, pending an investigation.
