Mother Nature had a hand in igniting a fire in Sherrills Ford Saturday morning, when lightning struck on Jaya Drive.

Lightning didn’t even hit the house, said Keith Bost, chief of Sherrills Ford/Terrell Fire and Rescue.

“It hit a tree, traveled down the roots of the tree and found a waterline into the house,” he said.

Firefighters responded to the call about 1 a.m. after a fire started underneath the house, Bost said.

“We got there real quick,” he said, noting that quick response kept the fire from spreading into the house itself.

The homeowners were home when they heard the thunder and found the fire shortly after.

Bost said firefighters were able to reach the fire from underneath and had control of it within about 10 minutes. The fire burned through plastic and insulation under the house, but caused less than $2,500 in damage, he said.

It wasn’t the only lightning strike in the area, though. Some Sherrills Ford firefighters were already assisting the Lake Norman Fire Department with another fire caused by a lightning strike in Iredell County when the Jaya Drive fire was reported.

“It’s pretty common,” Bost said. “When you have a strong (storm) cell come through, you might have one or two lightning strikes.”

He said luckily, most people quickly find the fires caused by lightning.

“Most people aren’t going to sleep through a crack like a lightning strike,” Bost said. “You’re going to know it.”

After people realize their home has been hit, he said they usually find the fire in its early stages.