Early morning lightning strikes called out firefighters in Edgecomb, Boothbay and Newcastle June 26.
In Newcastle, a lightning strike sparked a fire that destroyed an approximately 200-year-old, partially restored, two-story barn and its contents at 526 River Rd.
A neighbor reported the fire and Lincoln County Communications dispatched the Newcastle Fire Department at 4:20 a.m., Newcastle Fire Chief Clayton Huntley said.
Huntley was the first to arrive on scene, where he found the two-story barn “fully engulfed” in flames. “Everything was burning when we got there,” he said.
Huntley said the barn stored antique engines, tools and other mechanical equipment, all of which were lost. No animals were in the barn, he said.
A restoration of the barn was 90 percent complete and staging still stood around the structure before the fire.
Huntley said Damariscotta and Newcastle firefighters used a defensive “surround and drown” technique to cool the fire and prevent it from spreading.
Firefighters cleared the scene after containing the fire in about two hours.
The property owner, Carl Schroeder, was away at the time of the fire, Huntley said. Huntley didn’t know whether he had insurance that would cover the loss.
The Damariscotta and Newcastle fire departments responded to the scene; Nobleboro and Wiscasset provided station coverage.
Boothbay Fire Chief Dick Spofford said his department received one call related to a lightning strike.
“Lightning hit a tree and took a line down,” he said. Spofford said the electric wire broke off a building and landed on Wiscasset Road (Rt. 27). Seven members of the Boothbay Fire Department answered the call that came in at approximately 4 a.m.
In Edgecomb, lightning hit two pine trees before going underground and entering the home at 203 Shore Rd.
“It shorted out two circuits and did some extensive damage at the corner where it went into the house,” Fire Chief Roy Potter said. He said there was no flame.
Three Edgecomb fire trucks responded to the scene. Assistant Fire Chief Larry Omland later said the homeowner, Susan Tiller, had been in contact with her electrician who said damage to electric service was minimal.
