Lightning strikes four Austin buildings

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Lightning strikes sent fire trucks running to four Austin locations this morning.

Between 9:00 and 11:00 a.m., bolts struck an Austin elementary school, an apartment complex, and two single-family homes in the city.  No one was hurt in any of the incidents.

The first lightning strike hit the Hamilton Apartments at 2200 Panther Trail in South Austin just after 9:00 a.m.  Firefighters arrived to find flames shooting through a hole in the roof.  They immediately evacuated the building, and put the fire out within 30 minutes.  Fire officials  credit fire stops in the attic with helping them contain the flames quickly.  They estimate damages at that property will add up to about $100,000.  Apartment management is working to relocate the occupants of the affected apartments. Below is an interactive map of the lightning strikes:

View Lightning fires in a larger map

The second strike set ablaze a home on Encinal Cove in Southeast Austin.  Firefighters got the call at 9:17 a.m. and found the attic fully engulfed in flames.  When the roof began to collapse, they had to pull out of the home and fight the flames from the exterior only.  No one was home at the time.  Between the structure itself and contents inside, damages at that fire are estimated to reach $150,000.

The following two lightning strikes did not spark large fires.   The fire crew that responded to a call at a home on Glen Oak Drive in South Austin found no evidence of smoke or fire and canceled that alarm. 

The final lightning call of the morning came from Cambell Elementary School in East Austin.  The school began evacuating before firefighters arrived.  There were no flames, only a smoking air-conditioning unit on the roof  and a strong smoke odor in the kitchen.

In addition to the lighting calls, the Austin Fire Department also responded to 24 alarm activations between 6:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.  The department's normal average for a 24-hour period is 17.