ELBERTA – A storm system that passed through Baldwin County early Friday morning destroyed one home in Elberta and damaged several buildings in Belforest, according to reports.
Lightning struck a home in Elberta at around 5:42 a.m. Homeowner Steve Kirkpatrick said no one was injured in the incident, but a dog was killed.
Apparently, it was lightning strike,” Kirkpatrick, who is also an Elberta Town Council member, said. “Everybody got out safe. I lost one of my dogs, but other than that no one was hurt.”
He said he and his daughter had both left for work when the fire started. His wife was alone with the dogs at the time.
“She heard the dog scream and got up and looked outside and the side of the house was on fire,” Kirkpatrick. She called the fire department and got outside and later found the dog was dead under some debris on the back porch.”
He said the house was badly damaged in the fire.
“It started on the back porch,” Kirkpatrick said. “It burned the back two floors of the house. I’m thinking the house is going to be a total loss. Lot of smoke damage. Lot of water damage. We have a pool house. I guess we’re going to be staying in it.”
The storm system passed through Baldwin County with radar indicating that a tornado may have touched down in the Belforest area, Jessica Waters, spokeswoman for the Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency, said.
The storm system passed through Baldwin County with radar indicating that a tornado may have touched down in the Belforest area, Jessica Waters, spokeswoman for the Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency, said.
She said several buildings were reported damaged on Baldwin County 64 near Capital Drive in Belforest before the storm crossed Interstate 10 and dissipated. Storm damage was also reported near River Road and Baldwin County 68 with several trees knocked down at around 4:45 a.m.
