Lightning strike ignites Tuesday morning gas, residential fires in Hixson

A natural gas fire burns in the Hampton Woods Drive subdivision early Tuesday morning following a lightning strike. / Photo courtesy Chattanooga Fire Department
A natural gas fire burns in the Hampton Woods Drive subdivision early Tuesday morning following a lightning strike. / Photo courtesy Chattanooga Fire Department

Lightning from an early Tuesday morning storm struck a gas line and ignited residential fires in a Hixson neighborhood, according to a news release.

Dallas Bay Volunteer Fire Department crews responded to a report of a fire in the Hampton Woods Drive subdivision shortly after 6:30 a.m. Tuesday. Crews arrived at the scene to find an "exposed gas line with fire, a house fire and a tree fire," the release states.

Fire investigators at the scene reported $20,000 in damage to two homes in the area.

A Chattanooga area gas company also responded to the scene to allow gas burn-off to prevent an explosion hazard, according to emergency services.

No injuries were reported at the time of the incident.

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