THE WOODLANDS, Texas – At least 10 fires overnight were caused by lightning strikes in The Woodlands, Spring and Conroe areas, the Montgomery County fire marshal said.

A fire at the Holly Creek Apartments ripped through the roof of a building and destroyed eight units leaving at least 16 people out of their homes.

The fire started just before 2 a.m. at the apartment complex in the 300 block of Holly Creek Court in The Woodlands.

Fire crews found a section of the building engulfed in flames. Firefighters tried to reach the attic when the roof started to collapse, officials said.

No one was injured.

"They're all out of town and to come home to this?" neighbor Nicole Bland said.

The flames were so intense that The Woodlands firefighters came back hours later to put out hot spots inside one of the buildings.

One woman said she helped rescue the cats of her friend who lives in the downstairs apartment and is in Florida on vacation.

Cellphone video taken by a neighbor showed the after moments the fire broke out. Huge, bright flames could be seen bursting from the top of the homes.

Neighbors said they heard a loud boom just before midnight and then saw a huge flash.



"It hit down, it hit the apartment and it shot up, and it was blue and red," Bland said.



The fire marshal said the lightning strikes caused severe damage to electrical systems, which caused the flames.

"I feel bad for all the families and the pets they have lost," said Bland.

Lightning also caused the roof of a home in Spring to catch fire, officials said.

No one was hurt in that fire, either.

The Red Cross is helping 16 people who were affected by the fires.

Management at the apartment complex is also helping to relocate residents to nearby apartments.

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