By Charley Falkenburg, Staff Writer
Two homes in Princeton Township caught fire after being struck by lightning during a severe thunder storm on Thursday evening, according to police.
Police said the first fire occurred when a home in the 100 block of Jefferson Road at approximately 5:30 p.m. Sgt. Michael Cifelli said the residence was unoccupied at the time because it was undergoing renovations.
Police said damages were minimal, but that the house did sustain some water damage.
A half an hour later, a second home in the first block of Henderson Avenue caught on fire at approximately 6 p.m., diverting some of the fire crews from the Jefferson Road fire.
Police said an elderly resident was inside the Henderson Avenue residence at the time, but that she was not injured.
However, her attic and roof did sustain significant damage, requiring her and her two cats to relocate with the help of her family, according to Sgt. Cifelli.
Police said the fires appear to be caused by multiple lightning strikes and are being investigated by fire officials assisted by the police department.
Sgt. Cifelli said no other storm-related damage had been reported as of 8:47 p.m. Thursday night, but that sporadic power outages were reported during the storm.

