Homeowners still unaware of fire. ‘We’ve been trying to find them,’ sister says.

ST. GEORGE — Officials have confirmed that a lightning strike ignited a fiery blaze that destroyed a St. George home Thursday night. As of Friday morning, the homeowners, who are on a family vacation, still had not been notified.

Lightning caused a Little Valley home to become engulfed in flames, St. George, Utah, Aug. 3, 2017 | Photo by Nakavius Jaks, St. George News

An intense thunderstorm was passing over the area just before the home caught fire, and several witnesses reported seeing lightning strikes near the 6,145-square-foot home located at 2284 E. 3970 South in the Little Valley area.

At approximately 8:53 p.m., St. George Fire crews responded to the scene as the home quickly became engulfed in flames. The large home actively burned for several hours as firefighters worked to knock down the flames.

The homeowners and their children were out of town on a camping trip with no cellphone reception at the time of the fire, said Sherrie Hall, a sister of one of the homeowners.

Firefighters battle a massive house fire that caught fire during a thunderstorm in St. George, Utah, Aug. 3, 2017 | Photo by Joseph Witham, St. George News

“(They) just took the kids on a little camping trip before school started,” Hall said. “They don’t know yet. We’ve been trying to find them.”

The house was unoccupied except for a pet dog found on the backyard patio. The dog was quickly rescued and turned over to extended family members for care.

“The firemen were amazing, I have to say,” Hall said. “They went in and saved some things that were very special in the middle of the night so, that was amazing.”

Firefighters were still on scene at 1 p.m. Friday checking for any hot spots that could potentially flare back up.

The aftermath of a Little Valley house fire ignited by a lightning strike as an intense thunderstorm passed overhead, St. George, Utah, Aug. 4, 2017 | Photo by Mike Cole, St. George News

Neighbors had begun tying purple ribbons on trees in the homeowner’s yard Friday morning as a show of love and support for the family.

The 6-bedroom, 5-bathroom home with a reported value of $1,350,000 was featured in the 2016 St. George Parade of Homes. While no assessment of estimated monetary damage had been made, the home appeared to be a total loss.

No injuries were reported as a result of the fire, and no adjacent homes or other properties were damaged.

This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

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7 Comments

  • Freethinker August 5, 2017 at 9:42 am

    Millionaires…..pfft. Sorry,I can’t feel sorry for them. They will move on just fine. VERY happy the dog made it out though.

  • desertgirl August 5, 2017 at 12:13 pm

    I’m not feeling any sympathy for this family; you left your dog tied up in the back yard. Karma is a b–ch.

  • comments August 5, 2017 at 12:56 pm

    Lightning strike, eh? They must’ve done something to anger “the lord”. Have they been paying the full 10%?

  • Arcana August 6, 2017 at 8:35 am

    That’s what you get for leaving your dog outside in this heat. What awful people.

  • Mike Carter August 6, 2017 at 2:18 pm

    Absolutely terrible, I hope they take that dog away and find him/her a loving home. I don’t feel a bit of sympathy for these disgusting people.

  • Dynasty August 6, 2017 at 5:53 pm

    Wow! You people are something else, with your self-righteous, judgmental assumptions. The homeowners aren’t “millionaires.” They’re normal people who own a nice home, which they earned through hard work and a good education. Their dog wasn’t “tied up in the back yard.” He was left in his home, which he was able to enter and exit through a doggie door. What is wrong w/ you people?! If you had any clue about these people, you would know that they weren’t at all concerned about the material losses, and are just grateful that their family wasn’t in the home when the lightening hit. Despite the devastating loss of many heirlooms inherited from the owner’s deceased mother, and other precious personal items, they remain thankful for their blessings and the love and support they’ve received from family, friends, and their community. Shame on you disgusting trolls for assuming otherwise.

    • Arcana August 6, 2017 at 10:10 pm

      “Not millionaires” – Owns home over a million dollars.

      “Doesn’t care about material possessions” – Obviously, because what they paid for that house they could have bought 3 houses. They will have zero problems replacing everything, they’re loaded. No sympathy.

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