While Marion County appears to have escaped the brunt of the severe storm activity that resulted in severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings across the region, lightning strikes did start two fires.
A vacant home in the 3000 block of State Route 161 east of Centralia was hit by a lightning strike that started a fire on the outside of the home. The fire burned through the wall to one inside room before the blaze was quickly extinguished by Centralia Fire Protection District firemen with mutual aid assistance from Kell and Odin Firefighters. Sandoval and Irvington Firemen stood by at the Centralia Fire Protection District in the event of another fire. A neighbor first spotted the blaze around 8:15 Thursday night when a heavy thunderstorm was passing through.
Another lighting strike blew up an oil tank on Shanghai Road near the Gentry Road intersection northwest of Kinmundy. It tossed the tank so far away it could not be found in the dark. Kinmundy-Alma Fire Chief Kevin Day says oil was everywhere and it caught fire setting the gun barrel and water barrel of the tank battery on fire. Foam and water was used to put it out. Salem and Farina firemen were called for mutual aide.
There was also a report of a six vehicle crash on I-57 between Kinmundy and Farina as the same severe thunderstorm passed over, but it turned out to be one pickup pulling a trailer pulling off the highway and getting stuck and other vehicles stopping due to the intense rain. A tornado warning was out for the north east part of Marion County at the time. Day says no other damage has been reported in the Kinmundy area.
The storm system resulted in multiple tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings being issued for South Central Illinois.
