People living in four wooden houses yesterday described the terrifying moment when their homes were struck by lightning yesterday morning.
Sockets were blown out of walls, telephones exploded, sparks leapt out of a TV set and, in one home, a flaming socket set fire to curtains.
Several fire tenders went to Glenfern, Fassfern, in the Kinlocheil area of Lochaber just before 8.30am.
Ian Pellow, 53, said: “I saw the flash and heard the bang then heard my wife screaming.
“I rushed into the living room and saw smoke everywhere and the phone had exploded.”
Lightning had hit the pole carrying phone lines outside their home.
His wife, Chris, also 53, said the lightning went down the phone line and blew the socket out of the wall.
She said: “I was on the computer telling my son that I was going to switch everything off because of the storm when there was big bang and I smelled burning.
“It was very frightening. I was really shaken up.”
Neighbour Eilidh Houston, 36, said there had been thunder and lightning from about 5am.
She said: “Just after 8am, there was a really big bang and I thought the roof was coming in.
“I was in bed and heard the roar of the thunder, then the fire alarms started going off, and there were flashes all around.
“I got up to check the sockets and our phone and router lines had all been blown off. The backs of the sockets and the plug were smouldering and the wires have all been shredded.
“If we hadn’t been here there could have been a fire.”
Another neighbour, who did not want to by named, said she was awakened by her dogs barking and the smoke alarms going off.
She said: “I went downstairs and my curtains were on fire. I could see flames and I panicked and called 999. They told me to close the doors and leave the house, so I grabbed my two dogs and got out.
“The socket under the curtains had exploded setting the curtains alight. Bits of the socket are embedded in the curtains.
“I’m just glad I was at home and heard the smoke alarms or the whole place could have gone up in flames.”
Another resident, who also asked to remain anonymous, said: “The kettle lit up and went a white/blue colour, then I saw sparks coming out of the top of the TV.”
A BT spokesman said 200 homes had lost their telephone service as a result of the lightning in the Kinlocheil area, and engineers were working on repairs last night.
Meanwhile, a Christmas tree outside the Nevis Radio in Fort William was also struck by lightning yesterday, blowing 2,000 LED lights, but Fort William Town Team came to the rescue by providing the radio station with a spare set.
