Lightning causes chicken house to go up in flames in Banks County

A Banks County woman said a lightning strike caused her chicken house to go up in flames as storms rolled through north Georgia Tuesday night. 

"It was being used for storage, so thankfully there were no chickens in it," Atha Dalton told FOX 5 News. "It was very scary." 

According to Dalton, a Banks County deputy spotted the blaze from the road. 

"We were terrified thinking the fire would jump and get into the barn," Dalton said, stating she has several cows and a horse 

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Dalton said the chicken house was fully engulfed in flames, from one end to the other. 

"People told me they saw smoke from several miles away," she said. "I was returning home and actually saw the bolt about 5:20 or so. It looked like a huge fireball coming down, and of course, the thunder just boomed."

Dalton said she told her husband she was convinced the lightning had struck something, then, within minutes, her neighbor came pounding on her door. 

Dalton said they lost several items in the fire including a log splitter and some sentimental things. She also said a car was destroyed. 

"We are so thankful that no one was injured, especially our cows and my horse," Dalton said. "I cannot thank the firefighters enough. They were amazing."

RELATED: Powerful storms move through North Georgia Tuesday

Photo and video courtesy of Atha Dalton