Lightning likely culprit in spate of fires in McHenry County to homes, church

Severe storms that rolled through McHenry County Thursday night and into Friday appear to be the culprit behind multiple responses from emergency departments, many of which were fires where lightning was suspected as the cause.

Cary house fire

A Cary home was uninhabitable following a fire late Thursday that may have started from a lightning strike.

[ Firefighters save Hebron church after lightning strikes steeple ]

First responders found heavy fire from coming from rear and side of the two-story home when they arrived to the 500 block of Surrey Ridge Drive about 10 p.m.

Despite heavy downpours and active thunderstorm conditions, firefighters brought the fire under control by about 10:30 p.m. Three occupants were home at the time and were able to escape unharmed prior to the arrival of first responders. Searches confirmed that no one remained inside the residence.

The Cary Fire Protection District and neighboring departments doused the fire by about 10:30 p.m. while rain, thunder and lightning continued. Three occupants of the house had evacuated before personnel arrived.

Heavy damage to the upper floor and attic left the home uninhabitable, and an investigation into the cause continues, though a lightning strike was believed to be the cause.

Church fire in Hebron

The pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Hebron praised first responders who battled a blaze late Thursday that apparently began when lightning hit a large electric cross atop the steeple.

The fire sent flames into the sky that could be seen for miles, and the Rev. Debbie Kelly said the ability of firefighters to keep the building standing – while working in pounding rain and thunder – “that’s the amazing part.”

“That cross was literally blazing. ... That could have been a tinderbox,” Kelly said early Friday. “We are so grateful to the firefighters.”

The Hebron-Alden-Greenwood Fire Protection District responded along with several other area departments.

The structure, built in the 1890s, didn’t escape damage altogether. The extent is yet to be determined, but there is water damage inside and no utilities available.

Elizabeth Milazzo lives nearby and said her husband saw flames shooting from the church and ran outside to warn others. She too said she was “very grateful for the quick and heavy response to put it out. It really was quite a sight.”

Kelly learned of the fire late Thursday when a parishioner who is also a firefighter contacted her. She rushed to the scene and headed back there Friday morning to begin next steps.

Kelly said the congregation had already planned to worship at its outdoor pavilion this Sunday, as it did regularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, but that too has been called into question.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, but we never know what’s going to happen,” Kelly said. “But God is good.”

McHenry house fire

Around the same time as the Cary house fire, McHenry firefighters responded to a roof fire at a McHenry home that officials was also likely to have been caused by lightning.

The McHenry Township Fire Protection District responded to a call around 10:30 p.m. Thursday to the 6900 block of Waterford Drive in McHenry for a reported fire. First responders arrived to a “two-story single-family residence with fire visible in the peaked corner of the roof,” according to a McHenry fire news release. The fire was immediately upgraded to a structure fire to bring in extra resources.

Crews deployed a hose and accessed the attic through a scuttle to suppress the fire while checking if it extended further into the home. Firefighters were able to control the fire within 10 minutes, and no injuries from residents or firefighters were reported, according to the release.

All residents of the home had safely evacuated the house before firefighters arrived, fire officials said in the release.

Though the fire is still under investigation, signs point to a lightning strike during the storm as the cause, according to the release.

McHenry Bank hit, lost bricks

The former First Midwest Bank building at 3510 W. Elm St. in McHenry was also struck by lightning during Thursday night’s storms, Public Works Director Russ Adams said. In this case, the strike did not start a fire but did blast some bricks and other debris off of the building.

A section of sidewalk along North Green Street between the bank and Route 120 (Elm Street) has been closed off to pedestrians “out of an abundance of caution until the building can be inspected to verify that there is no further risk of falling debris,” Adams said.

Closure barricades have been installed. Pedestrians should use the east side Green Street sidewalk until further notice, Adams said.

Pedestrian-involved crash in Algonquin

Thursday night’s storm is suspected to have been a factor in crash in which a pedestrian was hit by a car in Algonquin, police said.

Just before 10 p.m. a black Subaru was traveling westbound on Route 62 when it struck a 55-year-old Algonquin man walking northbound in the crosswalk at River Road, Algonquin Police Sgt. Jason Burzynski said.

“The driver of the Subaru advised he did not see the pedestrian due to the rain,” Burzynski said. “The driver of the Subaru stayed on the scene and helped the pedestrian until medical help arrived.”

The man was taken to Northwestern Medicine Huntley. His condition was unknown Friday morning when the sergeant also said citations were pending.

Lake in the Hills garage fire

A detached garage in Lake in the Hills was another building that were struck by lightning and caught fire Thursday during thunderstorms rolling through the area.

Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District was called at about 11:30 p.m. to the 300 block of Oak Leaf Road for the report of a fire coming from the two-car garage roof after it was hit, according to a release Friday from the department.

The fire was at the roof’s peak. It was under control in 20 minutes, and additional crews remained on scene addressing hotspots and overhauling the scene, the release stated.

The Lake in the Hills Police Department, Huntley Fire Protection District, Woodstock Fire Protection District, Crystal Lake Fire Department, and the SEECOM Dispatch Center aided at the scene or by covering other calls during the fire.

A damage estimate was not yet available, according to the release.

The blaze was among others reported following two rounds of storms that passed through the McHenry County area Thursday evening.

An earlier system caused a series of trees to fall on road and power lines in the Marengo area, and what was to be the first night of Lake in the Hills’ Rockin’ Rotary Ribfest was canceled and early arrivers evacuated. Ribfest reopened Friday, but the risk of poor weather also returned, with a tornado watch issued until 11 p.m. Friday along with renewed risk of damaging winds, lightning strikes and flash flooding, particularly in areas already rain-soaked.

A 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms for Saturday was forecast by the National Weather Service. Skies are expected to clear up by Saturday night.