Storms lead to lightning fires, traffic accidents

DALLAS - It was a long, wet, noisy night across North Texas. Loud thunderstorms rolled across the area with rain and lightning.

Lightning is responsible for at least one house fire near Interstate 20 and Bonnie View Road in southern Dallas. A woman and her grandparents were sleeping at the time, but escaped without injury.

“It was a lot like a loud boom and when the boom hit, all of the lights went out. And that’s when I went outside and they said the side of the house was on fire,” the woman said.

The strike knocked out power in that neighborhood. Overall, Oncor said about 22,000 homes and businesses in the Metroplex were without power Friday morning.

The wet weather has also caused problems on the North Texas highways.

Early Friday morning a semi-truck hauling two FedEx trailers jackknifed in Mesquite. The crash caused the ramp from westbound Interstate 30 to southbound Interstate 635 to shut down for a few hours.

In Dallas, another 18-wheeler jackknifed on Interstate 20 near Interstate 45. The driver of a car said the truck hit him, causing him to spin several times. A third vehicle was also involved.

More than 2.5 inches of rain fell at DFW Airport on Thursday, breaking a 108-year-old record.