Editor’s Note: The video in the above player is from a report on a house fire in Morton Grove on Thursday morning that authorities said was likely caused by a lightning strike.
A suburban house fire that broke out Friday night amid severe storms was likely caused by a lightning strike, authorities said, marking the second of such house fires in the Chicago suburbs this week.
Around 9:45 p.m. on Friday, firefighters responded to a house fire on the 1400 block of Wendover Lane in Wheaton and found a heavy fire on the roof of a house, authorities said.
Crews immediately deployed hose lines on the fire and extinguished the blaze within 20 minutes, authorities said.
No injuries were reported and the fire was contained to the attic; however, the house was deemed uninhabitable due to significant fire and water damage.
Authorities said the cause of the fire appeared to be from a lightning strike on the roof.
On Thursday morning, Morton Grove Fire Department crews extinguished a fire in a two-story home in the area that officials say was also likely caused by a lightning strike. Aerial video captured by NBC Chicago Sky 5 showed a large plume of smoke rising from the house as firefighters extinguished the blaze.
The Wheaton fire broke out as severe thunderstorms hammered the Chicago area with high winds and heavy rainfall.
Northwest of Wheaton in Winnebago County, three tornadoes touched down during the storms, National Weather Service crews confirmed.
