Lightning causes partial damage to Petal apartment complex

PETAL, MS. - The severe storms that surged through parts of Mississippi Sunday left Pine Belt facing floods, uprooted trees, and even lightning.

A tree right next to an apartment complex on 10th Avenue was struck by lightning Sunday around 12:30 p.m. according to residents.

Brittany Johnson, a resident, said the tree caught on fire and caused her apartment to catch on fire. Johnson said she is thankful no one was home.

“My fiancé, he came home, to grab clothes before the bad weather, to come to my mother’s house to get lunch and he missed it by ten minutes, so we are just thankful that he wasn’t there" said Johnson.

Johnson and her fiance arrived back to the apartment around 3:30 p.m. and did not know it caught on fire.

She said, “Once we got up to our house we saw that the door was wide open and there was insulation from the ceiling.”

Johnson said her neighbor called 911. She said if it was not for her neighbor her and fiance would have lost everything 3 weeks before their weeding.

“She said the lightning struck this tree on the corner which caused the fire, but thankfully she was there to call the Fire Department and they were able to put it out" Johnson added.

Residents at the apartment complex said the apartment sustained water and electrical damage.

Residents have to evacuate the building until repairs are made. Petal firefighters said no one was injured during the fire.