A lady in her 50s from West Co Cork narrowly escaped disaster on Sunday evening as her home was hit by lightning, causing her to make a hasty retreat to ensure her safety. This unfortunate incident left her house, stationed at Carhuvolour, Rossmore – a mere 12km distance from Clonakilty – severely damaged by a fire triggered by the lightning strike.
At the time of the disaster, around 8.40pm, the lady was the sole inhabitant. She was fortunate enough to exit the burning property and alert relevant authorities, however, the fire rapidly consumed the property. Units from the Fire Service of Cork County Council, stationed at Clonakilty, Dunmanway and Bandon promptly arrived at the scene and laboured for an extensive period to get the flames under control.
The aftermath of the fire was devastating, leaving the house structurally impaired with a collapsed roof, leaving only the four main walls standing unscathed before the rescue units were able to put out the flames, finally leaving the scene at 3.10am. This incident was one of several lightning strikes that West Co Cork experienced that night, causing additional destruction such as power line failures that left several hundred homes powerless.
A video revealing an electricity pole in Ballineen succumbing to a lightning strike and catching fire was shared by the Carlow Weather account on X. The most severe electricity cut-outs were experienced in regions around Clonakilty, Ballineen, Ahiohill, and repair crews from ESB Networks were prompt in responding to the damage, restoring power to the affected residences.