Lightning causes devastating fire for a south London, Ont. home and business
A home and home business at 11 Guildford Cres. in London, Ont. suffered extensive fire damage after being struck by lightning on July 11, 2023. (Gerry Dewan/CTV News London)
A London couple had both their home and home business devastated by fire after an early evening lightning strike on Tuesday.
The home at 11 Guildford Cres. was struck by lightning just before 6 p.m. Tuesday evening and the fire that followed caused extensive damage.
A couple inside managed to escape safely along with their 11-year-old dog.
Nikolina Ristic also operates her business, Nikolina Hair Design, from the location. On Wednesday morning, Ristic told CTV News London she lost contacts for all of her customers and hasn’t been able to reach out to them to explain what happened.
Nikolina Ristic says fire destroyed all the client contacts from her home business located at 11 Guildford Cres. in London, Ont. (Gerry Dewan/CTV News London) She’s working to get her business phone number forwarded to a cell phone and is hoping to be able to continue working from another location.
A crew from Winmar Property Restoration was on scene by 10 a.m. Wednesday morning to board-up exposed areas and fence the property off.
The family has been in contact with their insurance company but they aren't sure what the next steps will be or how long it will take.
City of London crews spent much of the morning of July 12, 2023 cleaning up after a portion of a large tree fell across Westminster Drive during a storm on July 11, 2023. (Gerry Dewan/CTV News London) The intense storm system that brought high winds and torrential rains caused damage throughout the region.
A section of Westminster Drive in south London was closed to traffic because a large tree had split, with part of it falling across the road.
Westminster was closed form Wonderland Road to White Oak Road until around 10 a.m. Wednesday as crews from the City of London cut and mulch branches from the fallen tree.
City of London crews spent much of the morning of July 12, 2023 cleaning up after a portion of a large tree fell across Westminster Drive during a storm on July 11, 2023. (Gerry Dewan/CTV News London)
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