DAPHNE — Sunday afternoon’s stormy skies looked menacing to Belforest Volunteer Fire Department Chief Scott Parker , so much so that he was anticipating being called out.

Little did he know that lightning would soon strike locally — not once, but three times.

Three homes, including two new but vacant structures, are estimated to be total losses due to the lightning damage, Parker said.

Occupants at the third home were not present when the storm hit, he said.

Firefighters from Daphne, Loxley, Fairhope, Silverhill and Stapleton assisted on the scene, Parker said.

He said about 50 to 55 firefighters helped battle Sunday’s three fires.

The first call occurred at about 1 p.m. and was for a house on Everett Lane, off Alabama Highway 181, Parker said. He said the fire in that home was due to a lightning strike in the kitchen and was confined to the central part of the structure.

“It looks like it came in on the gas line,” Parker said. “Fortunately no one was home at the time.”

Less than an hour later, Belforest firefighters were faced with two more lightning fires — at newly constructed houses on Steadfast Court (off County Route 54), Parker said.

Those fires are believed to have started in the structures’ attics, Parker said.

“It actually melted the plastic water pipes, so there was water, as well as smoke and fire damage,” he said.

Parker said insurance adjusters will determine the total damage value for the three houses.