Lightning strike burns down home of the Legionaries of Christ in Cumming

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - A lightning strike burned down the home of the Legionaries of Christ in Cumming early Sunday morning.

In the midst of severe storms taking place overnight, the strike took place at 4:45 a.m. and the house quickly engulfed in flames before burning down completely.

The Forsyth County Fire Department tried to put out the fire but were unable to. Most of the community’s 12 priests and missionaries were away and not at the home when the fire broke out. Four priests were inside when the bolt struck, but they managed to escape unharmed.

A GoFundMe has been organized to help the Legionaries of Christ recover from this situation.

A line of strong storms rolled through north Georgia early Sunday morning and caused significant damage with winds in excess of 65 mph. Metro Atlanta saw the worst effects between 4 and 5 a.m. and most of the rain was gone by 7 a.m.