As strong storms ripped through the metro early Saturday morning, it brought menacing lightning with it. The lightning is being blamed for the loss of power for thousands in Douglas and surrounding counties.
The Omaha Public Power District reports that 8,650 customers were without electricity during the peak of the storm. OPPD crew worked through the night and reduced that number, although some were still without power at mid-morning.
Those outages also affected some traffic signals in the metro. Motorists should be aware and treat intersections where signals have failed as four-way-tops.
Reports of lightning striking houses sent crews to a home near 173rd and Larimore shortly before 2:30 AM. Initial reports said lightning hit the garage and smoke and flames could be seen pouring from the roof. The homeowner wasn't there when the fire broke out but was notified when it was extinguished, which took about 40 minutes to contain.
In Council Bluffs, lightning is believed to have sparked a fire in a home on Rolling Hills Loop just southeast of town. A Pottawattamie County deputy reported seeing flames from the road. Fire was seen in a bedroom and more manpower was called for help. Initial reports indicated the homeowner, a gun enthusiast, had six pounds of black powder in the home.
No injuries were reported in either fires.
To see where current outages are click here.
(Photo courtesy of 6 News)