Lightning sets fires, injuring 2 as storms roam area
Power outages affect 39,000
Thunderstorms rumbled across Massachusetts yesterday afternoon, hitting the state with high winds, lightning, rain and hail and disrupting electrical service for at least 39,000 residents, officials said.
By yesterday evening, the skies seemed to have calmed down, and utility companies were working to get power back for affected customers.
But lightning sparked at least three fires yesterday. One firefighter suffered minor injuries about 1:23 p.m. after a strike caused an apartment complex on Dearborn Road in Peabody to catch fire, and a ceiling collapsed on him. By yesterday evening, he had been released from the hospital. The fire, which took three hours to extinguish, also burned a gaping hole in the building.
"It wasn't like the last one we had . . . I'll tell you that," Peabody Fire Deputy Chief Paul Lynch said, referring to another fire - not weather-related - at the same complex on May 29 that left some residents homeless.
A three-alarm blaze sparked by lightning also was reported on Broadway in Arlington at 1:01 p.m. A police dispatch official said no one was hurt. An attic fire on Barnard Road in Marlborough, caused by lightning about 5:20 p.m., was out yesterday evening, according to Deputy Chief Fred Flynn.
Three staff members for La Vida Adventure Camp at Gordon College had a close call. Those who took 14 students rock climbing at Red Rock in Magnolia yesterday morning caught wind of the storm and "got all of the campers down off the mountain and into a safe location," said college spokeswoman Kristin Schwabauer.
But when staff members returned to gather equipment they had left behind, lightning struck a tree 15 feet away, and they were hit by a ground current, Schwabauer said.
"They were able to call the hospital, and they were just taken to the hospital for precautionary measures," Schwabauer said. By yesterday evening, two had been released. The other was kept at the hospital for observation.
Four lightning strikes set off alarms in Sherborn, but no injuries were reported.
Hail fell in a number of areas, including Medway, Woburn, Wellesley, Arlington, Cambridge, Somerville, and Belmont. Wind damage was reported in Cambridge and Watertown.
Watertown also was hit hard by power outages, according to an
In all, the company reported 35,000 subscribers affected by outages. National Grid reported 4,000 affected customers at one point yesterday; the number had dropped to 3,000 by the evening. Both companies said they had crews out working to restore power.
According to the National Weather Service website, showers and thunderstorms may return after 3 this afternoon, possibly with hail and strong winds. There is a 20 percent chance of rain.
Globe correspondent Casey Ramsdell contributed to this report. Maddie Hanna can be reached at mhanna@globe.com.
