Grand Island’s HomeGoods store was closed Sunday because of damage inflicted by a lightning bolt during Saturday night’s thunderstorm.
A sign on the front door of HomeGoods said, “Closed due to fire.”
The lightning hit a portion of the roof shared by HomeGoods and Fresh Thyme, said Battalion Chief Bryan Stutzman of the Grand Island Fire Department. There was some water damage “because it blew out about a 5 foot by 5 foot area in the roof,” Stutzman said.
It was business as usual Sunday at Planet Fitness, which is next to HomeGoods, although a wastebasket was set up to collect water from a very slow leak overhead.
The lightning was reported at 10:18 p.m. Saturday, Stutzman said. The lightning did cause a fire, but the fire was small, he said. When firefighters arrived, they used an aerial truck to get up on the roof. It “was really pouring at that time,” Stutzman said.