Lightning Sparks Storage Tank Fire

Emergency crews were kept busy today, following another round of severe weather.  A lighting strike caused two storage tanks to catch fire this afternoon in Sour Lake.  Experts say while it's anybody's guess as to where lightning will land, the odds are good when betting on storage tanks as a target.

"It's a lot bigger and badder fire usually so takes a lot of setting up, a lot of resources," said Jack Provost with Hardin County Emergency Services District #5.

And that's exactly what it took to turn this... into this.

West Jefferson and Hardin County Emergency Crews spent two hours on Wednesday fighting two burning tanks filled with oil and salt water on Thompson Road in Sour Lake.  Authorities say lightning from the day's storms sparked the first flames.

Provost said, "Lightning strikes create this problem, we've had 'em in town in the big tanks before."

And while Provost says tanks aren't common targets for fires, when the skies light up, it's more or less a waiting game for that kind of call.

He said, "You hope not, but you kind of expect it, I knew what it was when it went out, I knew where it was at."

And so did the land owner where the tanks are located. This is home video Jon Price took of the torching tanks before emergency crews arrived. he says it's happened before, and Provost says there's not much anyone can do to keep it from happening again.

'How do you prevent this?' "Talk to God," he said, "It's hard to prevent, I don't know how many safety systems they have set up for this but it's just hard to deal with lightning strikes."

But it's hard to deal with any emergency, Provost says, so you just have to be ready.

"You never know, it's gonna be a house fire, a tank fire, it might be a wreck, 10-50 major, you just never know," he said, "You've got to be prepared for it all."