PALMETTO, Fla. (WWSB) – A single lightning strike sparking a fire destroyed the Palmetto home of a Sarasota County kindergarten teacher Thursday morning, leaving her family with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
Gail and Andrew Bowers built their home five years ago. The strike gutted the upper floor and left water damage throughout the bottom level. Family photos, personal belongings, and school supplies for the coming year were all destroyed.
“Huge — I mean, like I felt the whole house shake, it was like a bomb went off,” Gail Bowers said. “When we both flipped on our phones to see each other you could just see the smoke billowing out of the vents like instantly and we knew we had to get the dogs and we had to get out.”
‘A lot of memories’
The couple said the loss of irreplaceable items has been the hardest part of the experience…