Lightning sparks fire in Naperville

A Thursday morning lightning strike left a north Naperville home temporarily uninhabitable and caused more than $80,000 damage, authorities said.

Acting Fire Chief Mike Zywanski said the two residents of 1671 White Pines Court heard "a really loud boom" about 1:50 a.m. Thursday and got out of the house safely as it burst into flames.

"Based on the damage to the home, this is consistent with being a lightning strike," Zywanski said.

Flames were visible from the roof and second-floor walls of the home, he said. Firefighters entered the house and went immediately to the upper floor to quell the flames, which also were discovered in the attic.

Zywanski said the fire was extinguished in less than 15 minutes but crews stayed at the scene into the early morning hours to make sure nothing was still smoldering behind the walls.

"The house has some water and smoke damage, but it can all be fixed and be a functioning home again," Zywanski said.

The occupants were moved to a hotel and expected to make other living arrangements, he said.

With more bad weather expected in coming days, Zywanski said lightning strikes are a concern because they are random and unavoidable.

"We've had strikes on the south side of the city where the house is the highest thing from the ground and we've had strikes in the heavily-wooded older parts of the city," he said. "There's no rhyme or reason to it, but it can do some damage."