Lightning strike causes fire, rains debris on Minnesota woman in bed

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (FOX 9) - A stormy night turned frightening for several metro area families after direct lightning strikes ignited fires and caused damage to some homes.

It was a near-miss for the Sparkins family in Bloomington. Their home right across the street from Normandale Community College took a direct hit around 12:30 a.m.

The lightning hit the corner of the roof right above the master bedroom, causing debris to fall on Therese Sparkins, who was lying in bed at the time.

The rain quickly doused the flames, but the incident rattled the family of four.

“My whole body is still shaking. I feel really blessed and fortunate that we’re all safe, just fortunate we have great firefighters protecting us... and the house protected us. The house is damaged, but it protected us and we’re all OK,” she said.

A separate lightning strike in Bloomington splintered a wooden street light pole.

Other lightning incidents were reported in neighboring Eden Prairie and Victoria. Luckily, no serious injuries were reported.