Wind fuels fire in Thunderbolt

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By Christy Hutchings - bio | email

THUNDERBOLT, GA (WTOC) - A house fire is bad enough, but Wednesday's windy weather turned one blaze into twice the trouble in Thunderbolt.

The smoke filled the entire neighborhood, two homes on fire and the high winds making getting it contained quite a challenge.

While firefighters tackled the job, homeowner Dawn Williams just stood back and watched. "It was very frightening," said Williams.

Williams says it all happened so fast. "I was cooking my dinner and just heard somebody screaming."

She ran outside to find smoke filling the neighborhood, her neighbors home on fire, and the fence separating her home from there's on fire as well. It didn't take long for the winds to spread it even further onto her roof.

Williams ran back inside. "I had to run back and get my daughters dog because if I didn't, I'd be in a world of trouble," said Williams laughing.

She came back out with the dog, Marc Jacobs, and the only shoes she could find; her husband's.

The Red Cross assisted both families, while the fire department tried to figure out what caused the fire. Fire Chief Carl Smith says it's accidental, but adds the family tried to put it out first themselves. So by the time they called 911, it was too late.

"Less than two minutes we arrived on scene and we had two houses fully involved," said Smith.

Smith says in all his years, he's never had two homes burning simultaneously. And if it hadn't been for the help of Southside Fire and Isle of Hope Fire, it could have spread even more.

"I am just thankful everybody is safe and everybody is alive," said Williams.

Again, they're still trying to figure out how the fire started. The Red Cross has put both families up in hotel rooms for the night.