Benton Courier - Storm strikes Saline: Lightning hits house, causes fire; winds down trees

Joyce Spears walks away from her burning home on A Avenue in Benton Friday afternoon while fire fighters work to put out the blaze, which is believed to have been started by a lightning strike.

   The fire occurred at 509 A Ave. in Benton, the home of Danny and Joyce Spears. No one was injured.
   Around 3 p.m. lightning struck a pole at West Narroway and A Avenue, neighbor Mike Suggs said.
   The electricity then went out, he said, and about five minutes later he looked out a back window of his house and saw smoke and a glow from inside the house that caught fire.
   Fire Marshal Bruce Armstrong said Joyce Spears was taking a nap when she woke up from the sound of lightning. She smelled smoke and got up and went to the back of the house, where she saw smoke coming from the back of her washer and dryer, Armstrong said.
   Firefighters left the scene around 4:30 p.m.
   High winds from the quick storm made trees snap and fall in areas of Benton and turn over outside chairs and trash cans.
   Storms with wind gusts nearing hurricane speed cut across Arkansas, causing damage in at least 11 counties.
   Tommy Jackson, a spokesman with the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, said Conway and Johnson counties reported structural damage from the storm.
   Jackson said damage appears to be at its worst near Saint Vincent on Arkansas 95 in Conway County.
   Other counties reporting damage were Crawford, Faulkner, Franklin, Newton, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Sebastian and Yell counties. Jackson said the damage included downed tree limbs and power lines.
   The agency said it’s received no reports of injuries or fatalities.
   The storm developed out of Kansas and traveled through Oklahoma before entering Arkansas. The storm delayed the NCAA track and field championships in Fayetteville about four hours.
   Entergy Arkansas says nearly 30,000 customers were without electricity Friday afternoon.

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