Somerville house catches fire after lightning strike

SOMERVILLE, Mass. (WHDH) -- Lightning struck a house in Somerville causing it to catch fire Friday afternoon.

Crews rushed to the scene to put out the flames.

It didn't last long, but the fast-moving afternoon thunderstorm sure packed a punch. Along with the loud claps of thunder, there were terrifying lightning strikes.

“I literally saw the lightning across the street come down and hit the house, and ran in the house yelling ‘cause it scared the heck out of me,” George Beardsley said.

In Somerville, George Beardsley was standing on his front porch when he watched his neighbor's house get struck by lightning and catch fire.

“I smelled the smoke, and we went across the street, and we tried to get in but she’s away on vacation,” said Beardsley.

One Somerville firefighter was hurt while battling the flames. Officials say he cut his hand -- he needed some stitches, but is otherwise okay.

A few miles away in east Cambridge, strong gusts of wind ripped off tree branches -- a number of them landed on cars.

A power pole was snapped in two, right next to a gas station. But luckily, nothing caught fire and the power was quickly turned off.

For many, it was the rain that caught many off guard.

The intense downpour lasted less than 10 minutes -- more than enough time to soak everyone who was outside.

“I did have an umbrella, but it worked for about three minutes,” one woman said.

Crews were working into the night repairing a downed power pole in Somerville.