Appomattox Co., VA - An Appomattox County couple now knows the devastating effects of severe weather. A lightning strike set the fire that destroyed their auto repair shop Tuesday night.

This was an intense fire. Firefighters say it takes 1000 degrees to do the type of damage Appomattox Auto Works received. But the owners say they're already looking to get back what they lost.

It took the Shobers years to build their business. It took only minutes for it to be destroyed. 

Their neighbor had a bird's eye view of it all.  "I was upstairs in my upstairs bedroom just happened to be looking out toward the body shop and I saw the lightning bolt hit the shop," neighbor Frank Szabo said.

He called his neighbors to warn them.

"Sherry says, 'you gotta be kidding' I said 'No, I think the body shop's on fire.' She hung up real fast," Szabo said.

Co-owner of Appomattox Auto Works, Sherry Shober, said, "As I came down the driveway the fire department was here. They were awesome. They were here so quickly and everyone on the team did a great job for us."

Within an hour, the shop was destroyed. And so were 16 cars, some already fixed and ready to be picked up by customers.

Co-owner of Appomattox Auto Works, Everett Shober, said, "They've all been understanding, the ones that we have come by. What are you going to do? Make the best of it."

The Shobers' insurance will cover the damage to the vehicles. But one car's sentimental value can't be replaced.

"Well my son's car is in there. He's in Iraq (web | news) . We spent several summers rebuilding that and we're storing it here until he gets back," Everett said.

The Shobers already plan to rebuild their business, with the community's support as their foundation.

"One door closes, another opens. We are strong in our faith and well taken care of here," Sherry said.

A propane tank next to the building narrowly missed the flames. If it had, we could be talking about a lot more destruction.

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