‘Flames started coming off the top’: Chesterfield family displaced after lightning strike caused house fire

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A family will be out of their home for at least two months after their Chesterfield County house was struck by lightning during a storm on Monday.

“I got outside and I looked up and the flames started coming off the top,” said homeowner John Adams.

Adams, his wife and two sons were home when lightning struck their house on Charter Landing Drive the evening of Monday, Aug. 26. He said his son ran outside and saw their home on fire, grabbing their fire extinguisher.

“We got it out with one squirt — the flames that we could see,” Adams said. The flames they couldn’t see were growing as firefighters arrived.

Now, the homeowner said his family is learning the extent of the damage.

“The water damage is the worst,” Adams said. “As the day progressed, baseboards started separating from the walls. Sheetrock in the ceiling started looking like it was going to fall.”

When Adams showed our 8News reporters upstairs, the heat could be felt, and it increased on each level of the house. Adams showed them multiple areas where the home was damaged and where debris had collected on the floor.

Once they reached the attic, our 8News team was able to see a hole in the roof.

Adams and his wife say they will have to find somewhere to stay for two months while repairs are made.

“We’re not happy about it, but you gotta do what you gotta do,” Adams’ wife, Linda Adams, said. “We all survived, our animals survived — and we still have a house.”

No other houses near the Adams’ home were affected — but one other Chesterfield County residence, this one on Bellows Drive, was also struck by lightning within the same 10 minutes .

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