Home destroyed in fire near Edmonton

A family home near Edmonton was destroyed by fire on Sunday evening after it was reportedly struck by lightning during a powerful thunderstorm.

Fire crews were called to the home in Graminia Country Estates just off Range Road 271 north of Township Road 511 at about 8:20 p.m.

“First crews arrived and the house was fully involved,” said Parkland County fire marshal Sean Cunningham.

No one was home when the fire started, but family members live down the street.

The cousin of a woman who lives in the home said a storm moved in quickly. They saw an “extremely strong” lightning strike and she knew it was somewhere near.

Ellen Trofimov told Global News shortly after, she received a call from her cousin’s daughter asking her to check to see if there was smoke coming from the home.

“Someone called them and said their house might be on fire,” Trofimov said.

“There was a lot of smoke coming from the roof and you could see the fire coming from the broken windows,” she said. “It was slowly growing and moving through the rest of the house.”

When she got to the home, neighbours were working to remove some of the family’s belongings.

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“They were getting cars out of the driveway, the garage, they’re getting the boat out,” the woman explained. “It was actually a really nice thing”

One of those neighbours was Octavio Gil, who said he saw the home struck by lightning before the blaze broke out.

“We were taking pictures of the storm and then the lightning came down,” Octavio Gil said. “There it was. Boom.”

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A total of 40 Parkland County firefighters from three stations — Acheson, Devon and Parkland Village — fought the flames, according to Cunningham. Firefighters finished putting out hot spots early Monday morning.

“All I can tell you is so far the fire is under investigation. We are working on tracking down some information and talking to neighbours,” Cunningham said, adding the call came in right after a fierce thunderstorm.

Cunningham added the fire appears to have started at the back of the home and does not appear to be suspicious.

The home will be a total loss, and caused an estimated $1 million worth of damage.

“I was actually in disbelief,” said Trofimov. “I was sure the firemen were going to put out the fire and they were going to sleep here tonight.

“Now they have no house,” Trofimov added.

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No injuries were reported to the family or fire crews, however the homeowner’s son said his father had to bring the family dog to the vet to be treated for burns and smoke inhalation.

She later died of her injuries, which Trofimov said has devastated the family.

“They were pretty good at first, until that moment they realized the dog was in the house.”

— With files from Global News’ Karen Bartko