Lynchburg, VA - Spring storms aren't just sending heavy rains to our area, they're bringing lightning, and that's being blamed for torching a Charlotte County family's home Thursday night. What you can do to keep it from happening to your home. They say once lighting strikes your house, it's too late. All that lightning wants to do is find the quickest way to reach the ground, and if it all that electricity and heat go through your home to get there, the results can be life changing. 

Lightning doesn't care if it uses someone's house, or even the House of God. Greg Wormser says anything in electricity's way to the ground will get fried.

Greg Wormser, Lynchburg Fire Marshal - "It travels along anything metal, like the the electrical wires for your outlets, or any kind of metal structure that you might have in your home. And anything that gets superheated by that metal, like the wood beams or wood flooring in your home will smolder."

And it could burn until only a chimney remains, but Wormser says installing lightning rods has statistically shown to reduce damage in lightning strikes.

Wormser - "The electricity will go down the rod and be dispersed into the ground."

Lightning rods are more recommended for isolated homes on top of hills, or in wide open fields, not densely packed neighborhoods where a bunch of lightning rods on top of roofs would encourage more lightning to come in than normal. Turning your neighborhood into one giant lightning rod.

Wormser - "The key is when it strikes, it may do less damage."

As long as it's properly grounded, but master electrician Gene Moore says other devices can help too.

Gene Moore, JB Moore Electrical Contractor - "You can get what they call a lightning arrester installed. It's a simple device, probably about 35 to 40 dollars."

Arresters bleed voltage from lightning strikes straight to the ground, saving your electronics, and keeping it away from conductors inside your walls.

Moore - "And I've seen homes where it follows the pipe in the wall and just blows the plaster and sheet rock right off the walls."

Gene Moore says all lightning rods and arresters should be installed by a licensed professional. He also recommends putting surge protectors on your electronics, whether it with power strips, or you install one for your entire house.

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