Fire Caused By Lightning Destroys Otsego Home, Damages Another

OTSEGO, Minn. (WCCO) -- A lightning strike early Sunday morning in the northwest Twin Cities metro destroyed homes and badly damaged others, all on the same street.

It happened in Otsego, just before 6 a.m. Witnesses say lightning hit a house in a subdivision in the 12000 block of 76th Way Northeast. Fire then spread to neighboring homes, forcing families to evacuate.

A rescuer told our Nina Moini neighbors are stepping up to help the families who lost their homes.

All the homes in the newer subdivision of Otsego shook when a lightning strike hit in the early-morning hours.

"I turned to my wife and said and said somebody's house got hit," neighbor Joe Meinhardt said.

Meinhardt was right. His neighbors, the Jones family, were the unlucky ones. Within minutes, the family of three evacuated to the Wade family's house next door. The Wade's were hosting a sleepover for one of their children.

Unfortunately, crews from three surrounding fire departments couldn't stop the flames from spreading to the Wade's home. So everyone came to stay with Joe, watching their belongings slip away.

"From talking to the families and really sitting down with them all day and being with them, emotionally bankrupt is a good term to use," Meinhardt said.

Another home had electrical damage. No one was hurt, but 12 people are looking for somewhere else to stay. They weren't short on offers.

"If we were sitting in the driveway and I had a flat tire, I'd have six neighbors at my house helping change it," Meinhardt said.

Joe set up two GoFundMe accounts for the two families with the worst damage. Thousands of dollars poured in within hours of the fire.

"That just shows how strong of a close knit community we have out here," Meinhardt said.

There's a long road ahead for the families now without a home, but they won't be alone. Everyone on this street knows it could've been any of them.

"You got probably a better shot of winning lottery than something like this happening," Meinhardt said.

The Albertville Fire Department is still working to confirm exactly what caused the fire. CenterPoint energy is also investigating after the fire.

So what can you do to protect your home from lightning? CenterPoint recommends installing lightning rods. It's not known if the home that was hit had that. Lightning rods will not keep lightning from striking, but will help direct it safely away from your home if properly installed.