The Virginian-Pilot
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Saturday, March 16, 1996               TAG: 9603160412
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   23 lines

LIGHTNING FIRE DAMAGES ROOF OF HOME

ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARTIN GRUBE

Virginia Beach firefighters work to contain a blaze, sparked by

lightning, that burned the roof of a home near Kempsville Road and

Centerville Turnpike on Friday afternoon. No one was hurt in the

fire, which began as a fast cold front sped through Hampton Roads.

The storm, clocked at more than 40 mph, whipped up winds that

knocked out electricity to about 4,300 Virginia Power customers.

About half the outages were in Virginia Beach, and crews worked

through the afternoon to restore the electricity.

KEYWORDS: LIGHTNING FIRE by CNB