Lightning sparks fire, burns Sun City home

SUN CITY, AZ - Mary Wenger wasn’t the only one in her Sun City West neighborhood who was awakened by Mother Nature’s show early Thursday morning.

“Loud...boom and I was straight out of bed. It woke me up,” Wenger said.

"I'd figured it had hit something. No idea it was that close," she added.

Without realizing it, lightning had sparked a fire at a neighbor’s home.

"We go out of bed and I could just see even in our backyard the glow from the flames and you could smell the smoke,” said Pat Livermore, another neighbor.

Sun City West firefighters said by the time they got to the home, it was fully engulfed with flames shooting through the roof.

Investigators think the fire may have had an hour head start.

They were already in the neighborhood because neighbors reported a smell of smoke in the air, said Sun City West Assistant Chief Tim Van Scoter.

“Just a huge big ball of fire,” said Livermore. “It was unbelievable, I have never seen anything like that."

Neighbors are glad the couple who lives there, Jan and Fran Strock, weren't home at the time of the fire.

"Oh, it's awful,” Livermore said. “I mean when you look inside there is nothing left. Everything they had is gone."

Lightning was not the only thing which caused trouble in the Valley.

The wind took down some power lines near 64th Avenue and Indian School Road.

Crews worked most of the day to get them fixed and restore electricity to about a hundred people.