Storms spark fires, cause damage in Gwinnett County

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The storms turned dangerous as they rolled through Gwinnett County.  First responders raced to several calls in the past 24 hours. 

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In Lawrenceville, a huge pine tree sliced right through an apartment building at the Oxford Apartments Thursday morning. 

Rosie Franks says everything inside her apartment is ruined.  She says what wasn't damaged by the tree was destroyed by the rain that now poured inside. 

"When the tree came down it cut it like a cake.  Nothing is salvaged, everything is gone," said Franks. 

Franks daughter was hit by debris. Franks says she has a concussion and bruising but it could have been much worse. 

The building is not safe to stay in.  All the residents had to move to other apartments. 

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The tree came down as storms packing lots of lightning rolled through.  Just a few miles away, Daniel Alvarez says a bolt of lightning hit a tree next to the shed in his backyard, sparking a fire.  

"Lightning hit the tree and it traveled all the way to the shed and burned the corner, even popped the vents out," says Alvarez. 

Firefighters raced to the home and stopped the fire from spreading.  

By this time, firefighters have already responded to a number of fires sparked by lightning Wednesday night and Thursday morning, as well as weather-related traffic accidents and wires down.