As intense storms swept across South Florida, multiple lightning strikes wreaked havoc for homeowners in Southwest Miami-Dade and Fort Lauderdale, causing a gazebo and fence wiring to go up in flames. Surveillance footage shows the moment lighting hit a palm tree, causing a palm frond to fall on the gazebo in the backyard of a Southwest Miami-Dade home, sparking a fire, Monday afternoon. “It was like a very loud bang, like a very close lightinng,” said the homeowner. “It all happened very fast.” Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units arrived within minutes and put out the fire with a hose. The homeowner, who asked not to be identified or show his face on camera, told 7News he and his family are thankful that their home was spared from the fierce flames in their backyard. At one point, he said, he and his loved ones felt the intense heat radiating from the gazebo. “One of the neighbors over there called the firefighters because there was one already shooting water at it, and there was another one outside the door trying to get in, so I just let them in, and they just did their thing,” he said. The furniture under the gazebo was melted and the fence was damaged, but the family is grateful that the flames never reached their home. North of the county line, a flash of fire from an apparent lightning strike illuminated Fort Lauderdale’s Lake Ridge neighborhood, early Monday morning. An area resident who identified herself as Micki said the loud thunder even startled her very mellow dog. “You hear the first lightning blast, and nothing bothers her. So I heard it, woke me up. It was loud enough to wake me, but right after that was the second boom and the big ball of yellow fire,” she said. The bolt struck the fence line of the Villa Medici townhomes located in the area of Northeast 17th Avenue and Sunrise Boulevard. The power of that strike seemed to travel through the electrical wire. melting light fixtures and bulbs and even turning sand into glass. “Startling, beyond startled, and it kept blowing up and booming again,” said Micki. Mother Nature also brought down a live power line, causing a fireball to spark, as Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue crews waited for Florida Power Light to shut the power off. “You could see the live wire laying along the steps, and it was like on fire, and then the fire kept [reigniting],” said Micki. “Yes, FPL took a long time. Could have been very bad.” The homeowners association at Villa Medic said they are already in contact with insurance to try and figure out how they can make repairs. ...read more read less