Lightning sparks $500,000 blaze

A thunderstorm that rolled through the Vail Valley early Saturday morning caused substantial damage to a home in Red Sky Ranch when lightning struck the home and started a fire inside the structural supports, according to the Eagle River Fire Protection District.

“The home located at 226 East Lakeside Trail in Red Sky Ranch sustained about $500,000 of damage after a lightning strike started a fire within the floor structure,” Chief Charlie Moore said in a statement. The 7,800-square-foot home is worth about $4 million, the statement said.

A resident of the house noticed smoke filling the house after the bolt struck, and he called 911, the statement said. Firefighters found the home completely full of smoke and used a thermal imaging camera to locate the fire in the ceiling of the lowest floor, the statement said. Firefighters had to remove the drywall to get to the fire, as the fire was burning inside the ceiling cavity, the statement said.

Firefighters from Eagle River Fire and the Greater Eagle Fire Protection District had the fire under control within an hour and a half of the 911 call, the statement said.

There were no injuries to civilians or firefighters, the statement said.

“There was substantial structural damage caused by this fire as the fire burned through five structural floor joists (structural members that support the floor); however, there was no structural collapse,” Moore said in the statement. “This lightning bolt had enough energy to blow apart a portion of the stone chimney and send some pieces of stone flying up to 20 feet away. The bulk of the damage was confined to the south end of the home and to the structural supports, heating and electrical systems.”

The home is owned by Dundee Reality USA LLC, the statement said.

This is the second major blaze suppressed by Eagle River firefighters this week, according to the statement.