Lightning struck a Brookeville home and caused an explosion in the basement late Thursday. The house suffered structural damage and five people were displaced, according to the Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service.
The incident occurred in a two-story house on the 21600 block of Gentry Lane. The department reported the strike around 5:50 p.m.
While no fire broke out after the strike, smoke was coming from the basement. The occupants evacuated the house with no injuries, the county said.
The county said there was “extreme thunder” when the strike occurred.
“It was the loudest thunder and [a] very bright flash of lightning,” one user wrote on X. “[The] whole house shook in Olney.”
ICYMI (~545p 2/22) lightning strike in Brookeville/Sunshine accompanied by extreme thunder @MontgomeryCoMD & effect of lightning strike caused no fire but resulted in structural damage to a single-family home https://t.co/aKw206rs0Y pic.twitter.com/MyGwyXQDeT
— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) February 23, 2024
Photo courtesy Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service