Workers from local and surrounding fire departments battle a roof top fire at the Cades Baptist Church, located on Christian Avenue in the Cades Community. Crews would battle many different calls during last Tuesday’s early evening summer thunderstorms.
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The Cades Baptist Church was one of several buildings hit by lightening during last Tuesday's rash of thunderstorms. A series of storms left several buildings damaged and many without electricity.

An early evening storm is to blame for a fire that decimated portions of the 200-year-old church located on Christian Avenue. South Lynches firefighters who were assisted by Williamsburg County, Kingstree and Olanta Rural Fire Departments battled the blaze, which took out the roof and toppled the steeple. Luckily, no one was near the steeple when it came crashing down.

Earlier that same day the Kingstree Fire Department had to barricade a portion of Academy Street from Holt's Jewelry store to Main Street after two buildings were hit by lightening within moments of each other. The smoking roof of The Hair Gallery beauty shop at 117 Academy Street sent customers and staff scrambling onto the sidewalk and in the rain. Firefighters quickly discovered that several light fixtures were the culprits. A building two doors down from the beauty shop was also a victim of Mother Nature. Firefighters first had to secure an area around the three story brick building located at the corner of Main and Academy streets before they could send a firefighter up a ladder truck to investigate the damage. The structure had suffered a lightening strike to a corner of the brick facade that sent fragments crashing down into the street. The inside of the building wasn't damaged.

Two hours later Kingstree firefighters responded to a third lightening strike that occurred at the First Citizens Bank on Main Street. This time a bolt traveled through the telephone lines and disabled telephones. The lightening strike also interrupted telephone service to many other businesses.