Fire sparked by lightning not uncommon

Lightning strikes cause about 35,000 home fires each year in the United States.

There were two lightning-related blazes in North Charleston on Thursday alone. There was one on Daniel Island on Friday.

Don't worry too much about whether it will happen again. Predicting lightning strikes is guesswork at best, according to one expert. "The whole topic of lightning and where it strikes and how often is so arbitrary and capricious and random," said Richard Kithil, founder and CEO of the Colorado-based National Lightning Safety Institute.

The North Charleston Fire Department confirmed that lightning started the blaze that displaced an elderly couple from their home around 3 p.m. Thursday, Battalion Chief Eric Phillips said. Witnesses near 9135 DeLancey Circle reported hearing a sound like a shotgun. The home's roof later collapsed, but Peter and Mary Rowan, both 81, escaped uninjured.

Less than a half hour later, North Charleston firefighters responded to a separate fire caused by a lightning, Phillips said. This time, it was at the North Cove Apartments at 7950 Crossroads Drive. Crews found smoke coming from an air-conditioning unit outside an unoccupied apartment, he said. The insulation was starting to burn, but there were no flames.

Lightning also seriously damaged a large unoccupied house on the Isle of Palms last month.

About 6 p.m. Friday, lightning struck a vacant house that was for sale on Blakeway Street on Daniel Island. Charleston firefighters quickly extinguished that blaze, which was confined to the attic and second floor, said Mark Ruppel, Fire Department public information officer.

South Carolina, Georgia and Florida are "high lightning" areas compared with other parts of the country, Kithil said. But New York's Empire State Building also gets hit about 25 times every year, he said.

Before buying a home-protection system — they typically run about $2,500 for a lightning rod, grounding and surge protection — consider that it might not do any good.

"It doesn't guarantee there won't be any consequences from lightning," Kithil said. "There isn't much they can do."

Outside, he said, the safety steps are simple and clear: get inside an enclosed building or a metal vehicle. Thunder is lightning's acoustical signature, so if you hear it, get to a safe place.

Joe Calderone, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Charleston, said Thursday's storms were fairly typical for this time of year, though a weak cold front over North Charleston and Tennessee could have added to their strength.

The Weather Service did not forecast any rain this weekend.

Nadine Parks contributed to this report.