Lightning Sparks Fires Across Atlanta
ATLANTA --
Lightning and hail sparked several fires and knocked out power as storms moved across metro Atlanta Thursday night and early Friday morning.
A spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration said the tower that serves Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport was briefly evacuated after a lightning strike, but employees later returned to their jobs.
In Cobb County, firefighters blamed at least two fires on lightning. They battled a house fire off Lower Roswell Road and a garage at a home on Robinson Road was hit and caught fire.
In Buckhead, a huge tree fell and blocked Habersham Road.
Channel 2 Action News assignment editor Clarence Huber called Georgia Power and they reported that about 140 customers across metro Atlanta were without power at 6:30 a.m.; that's down from about 4,000 during the height of the storms.
Severe Weather Team 2 meteorologist Karen Minton tracked Thursday's weather system until it moved past north Georgia. It brought hail, thunder and lightning through metro Atlanta, and many viewers participated in Thursday's weather coverage by uploading their severe weather photos to wsbtv.com.
At the airport, FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the workers in the control tower were evacuated at 8:49 p.m. after a smoky odor was detected in the tower during a thunderstorm. She said arrivals and departures had already been suspended because of the storm and accompanying wind shear.
Bergen said all equipment was restarted, except the airport's ground radar system, and that the airport can operate without it.
She said arrivals and departures resumed about an hour later.
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