
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, September 2, 1995                   TAG: 9509050062
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

FRANKLIN COUNTY STORM SETS HOUSE ON FIRE

A severe thunderstorm hit Franklin County about 12:45 p.m. Friday, and by the time it left around 3 p.m., it had dumped 4.5 inches of rain in some areas and set a house on fire with a bolt of lightning.

Franklin County Public Safety Director Claude Webster said lightning struck the chimney of a house about five miles south of Boones Mill on Virginia 697 near Wirtz between 2:30 and 3 p.m.

A woman who was inside the house called for help from a nearby business because the carport and a room in the house had caught fire.

Webster estimated the fire damage at $5,000 to $10,000.

The Boones Mill Volunteer Fire Department was able to respond quickly because crews already were within three miles of the home working an accident when the call came.

Lightning also hit several trees and caused at least one brush fire near Callaway, which Webster said was extinguished easily.

by CNB