Lightning strikes homes in Navarre

The early morning storm brought a spectacular lightning show that not only lit up the sky but struck several homes in Navarre and the surrounding area.

Fire Chief Ron Norton, Holley Navarre Fire Department, reported that his crew responded to a possible lightning strike at 5 a.m. early July 6 at a residence on Octavia St. in east Navarre.

According to Norton there was no physical damage, no fire and the residents were okay.

Another call had his crew responding to a transformer fire as a result of a possible lightning strike but according to Norton no power outages were reported. The transformer is located on Esplanade St.

“Gulf Power was notified,” said Norton.

There was a house fire in the Tiger Point area that was the result of a lightning strike. Norton said his crew responded to assist the Midway Fire Department.

On the beach, Fire Chief Mike Howard, Navarre Beach Fire Department, reported that there were two alarm activations and a lightning strike.

“A house was struck by lightning and damaged the resident’s television,” said Howard, “It was a rental and the renters woke up to the smell of smoke and haze,” but the residents were unharmed.

So far there have been no water rescues.

Jeff Rogers, Gulf Powers spokesman, said that there are about 100 homes without power in Navarre at the present time and Gulf Power is working to restore power.

The National Weather Service is forecasting a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms for the remainder of the morning, decreasing to a 20 percent chance of thunderstorms by this evening.