Lightning strikes homes in Crystal Lake, Richton Park

CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill. (WLS) -- A home in north suburban Crystal Lake and another in south suburban Richton Park caught fire after separate lightning strikes, officials said.

Powerful storms swept through early Monday morning. The National Weather Service issued a brief tornado warning for McHenry County overnight, which expired at 2:30 a.m. Monday. Wind damage was reported in Woodstock. Scott Debates, his wife and grown son woke to tornado sirens in their Crystal lake home overnight.

"About five minutes later, we heard a thunderous boom that shook the whole house," Debates said. "About another five minutes later it smelled like candles were burning. Came outside, looked around the house and saw the tip of the house was on fire, and the tree right next to it had a big two-by-four splinter. Then all of a sudden I saw embers falling down off the roof."

The Crystal Lake Fire Department responded to a fire in the 4000-block of Ned Drive just after 3 a.m. Monday. Firefighters had the fire under control by about 3:45 a.m. with assistance from neighboring fire departments.

No one was injured in the fire. The fire damage was minimal. But the water damage was extensive and will require another major renovation. Officials deemed the home uninhabitable and early estimates show about $65,000 in damage. Debates purchased the foreclosed property five years ago, and has been making improvements ever since.

"The funny thing is the room that really got hit worst was the one that I just got done finishing," Debates said. "But we'll fix it again."

Firefighters also battled a house fire in the 22000-block of East Drive in Richton Park after lightning struck the home early Monday morning. The fire was out by around 7:20 a.m. and no one was hurt.

The Richton Park Fire Department received word of a house fire just before 5:15 a.m. Monday. Lightning struck the north side of the garage, causing an estimated $15,000 in damage.

A tornado watch was issued for six counties in southern Wisconsin and 11 in Illinois, including McHenry, Kane, DeKalb and Ogle, which expired at 4 a.m.

Heavy downpours, frequent cloud-to-ground lightning and wind gusts of up to 80 mph with quarter-size hail are all possible on Monday. The Chicago area will see a high of 87 degrees as the unstable air mass continues to produce isolated storms through early Tuesday, some of which may be severe, forecasters said.

The Sun-Times Media contributed to this report.