By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
A lightning strike born of Tuesday night’s thunderstorm is believed to have started a fire
that gutted a large, two-story residence northwest of Del Rio, a county fire department
official said.
Highway 90 near Lake Amistad on Wednesday morning to check on “hot spots,” after
spending hours at the residence Tuesday night battling a blaze that gutted the large
structure. County Fire Chief Jorge Vargas said today indications are that the fire was
started by a lightning strike from Tuesday night’s thunderstorm. (Photo by Karen
Gleason)
Val Verde County Fire Department Chief Jorge Vargas told The 830 Times today
“indications are” a lightning strike sparked the fire, which originated in the attic of the
structure, located at 110 Wells Avenue off U.S. Highway 90.
Vargas said county firefighters were alerted to the blaze at 8:47 p.m. Tuesday during a
severe thunderstorm that swept through southern Val Verde County.
“The call came in as a lightning strike,” Vargas said.
Vargas said he was the first of the county’s firefighters to arrive at the scene and saw
smoke pouring from the second story of the building. Moments later, he said, flames
erupted from the roof of the building. He said the structure is large, with more than 5,500
square feet of space on each floor.
Vargas said both the large size of the structure and the 50 to 60 mile-per-hour winds from
the storm made fighting the fire difficult.
“The weather did not help us at all. It was really a worst-case scenario with the winds,
and when we arrived it was drizzling, raining lightly, so the rain was not enough to help
us out,” Vargas said.
Vargas said both of the persons inside the house were outside when firefighters arrived, and
neither they nor any of the firefighters working at the scene sustained any injuries during
the incident.
Vargas said a total of three county fire trucks, as well as the department’s command unit,
and a fire engine from the Del Rio Fire Department, responded to the fire. A total of
seven county firefighters were dispatched.
Despite their efforts, the house was lost to the fire.
Vargas said before he left the scene, he placed tape around the building and advised the
homeowners not to enter the structure.
“One of the support walls was buckling, and the frames were bent due to the heat, and I
told the homeowners, ‘I’m telling you not to go in there because it’s just too dangerous’,”
Vargas said.
The county fire chief said all units were back in service by 3:42 a.m. Wednesday, and
county fire personnel returned to the scene about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday “to double-check
and make sure everything was out.”
Vargas said although there is no way to know exactly how the fire started, the sequence
of events reported by the homeowner “are indicative” that lightning sparked the blaze.
He said the homeowner told firefighters the fire seemed to have started in the attic, and
following a flash of lightning, all of the televisions in the residence went blank.
“When the TV downstairs went blank, the homeowner said he went upstairs, and that’s
when he saw smoke coming from the ceiling (of the second story),” Vargas said.
A relative of the homeowners told The 830 Times today that a neighbor’s doorbell
camera captured the lightning strike that started the fire.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com .
