UPDATE: Owners Clearing Debris from Lightning-Struck Home

Two days removed from a lightning strike-induced fire, the owners of a home in the 7300 block of Schey Drive were busy clearing out charred remnants.

A blue tarp draped across the roof and some scorched furniture scattered outside were the only signs of the fire that had swept through the one-story home.

Homeowner Laurie Zickert was going through the house alongside Quantum Fire and Water Restoration workers Tuesday afternoon, July 12. Zickert declined to comment on the fire, saying she "really wasn't in the mood."

The Zickert home was reportedly set ablaze by a lightning strike at around 10:37 p.m. on Sunday, July 10.

Responding crews found flames on the exterior gas meter of the home, reportedly spreading up the side of the house and into the attic. Crews from St. Louis Park, Richfield, Hopkins, Bloomington and Eden Prairie fire departments as well as Edina Police and Hennepin County paramedics all responded to the incident.

The Zickerts were home at the time of the lightning strike and described it as sounding like "a cannon going off outside." Neighbors notified them of the fire and everyone was able to escape the building safely.

Edina Fire Marshal Tom Jenson said lightning seemed to have struck a tree in the front yard of the residence as severe storms passed through the region Sunday evening. The lightning may have traveled from the tree to the gas meter adjoining the house, igniting the natural gas. 

Fire damage was observed on the roof, in the attic and on the northern exterior of the structure.

City officials did not have an estimate for how much damage was done to the home, which was valued at $400,400 in 2010, according to the Hennepin County Auditor.