(Photo by Art Smith) A large pine tree lays along North Seventh Street in Marietta Thursday following the hail storm the night before.

Lighting struck both a house and a tree in Reno along State Route 26 during the hail storm Wednesday night, according to Reno Volunteer Fire Chief Jon Bradford.

There was another structure fire reported in Wood County by the Wood County 911 Center but it could not be confirmed what caused the fire.

“The lightning hit the house and started in the attic,” he said. “It was well contained in the attic.”

Bradford said the call was made around 6 p.m. and the fire department had it under control within the hour.

He said the crew was able to respond almost immediately to the scene because they were already tending to various power lines that were down in the area.

(Photo by Art Smith) A close-up of hail from the storm Wednesday night.

“They did a great job at stopping it, and the fire mostly just damaged the attic,” he said.

Bradford said the department has a mutual aid agreement with the Marietta and Williamstown fire departments. He said there were about 16 of Reno’s staff available during the storm with about ten more firemen from Marietta and Williamstown.

“The fire was out by the time Williamstown’s crews arrived,” he said. “We all had a very busy night.”

Bradford said the storm was so intense that it became “dangerous and tricky” for crews to get to the scene of the fire. He said the main issue was the wind because it was blowing debris and smoke from the structure fire.

“I had to call in the (Washington County) sheriff’s office to assist with traffic because the smoke was so heavy and visibility was zero,” he said. “It was very dangerous for about 15-20 minutes because you couldn’t see 10 feet in front of you.”

(Photo by Art Smith) Debris from the storm Wednesday night strewn across Pike Street in Marietta Thursday morning.

Bradford said around the same time there were calls of several trees down as well as multiple power lines in the area. He said there weren’t any trees impacting the lines.

There were lines down near Smith Concrete and the Reno bridge as well as County House Lane near SR 26.

“I could count on both hands in the 40 years I’ve been on staff that lightning has struck a tree or structure and caught fire,” he said.

He reported no injuries from personnel or community residents.

Bradford said Marietta had multiple trees down including a large pine tree that uprooted along North Seventh Street.

He wanted to thank the Marietta and Williamstown crews for responding in a timely manner and for their help along with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office for assisting.

Personnel with the Marietta Fire Department were unable to respond to requests for comment by deadline Thursday.

A Wood County 911 Center supervisor said there were seven reported power line incidents and 21 weather-related calls during the storm.

He said there were two structure fires reported around 6 p.m with the second structure fire being the fire in Reno called in by the Reno Volunteer Fire Department.

The supervisor couldn’t confirm if the structure fire in Wood County was storm related but it was reported at the time of the storm.

The fire was reported on Washington Road and the Washington Bottom Volunteer Fire Department responded, according to the 911 Center.

Personnel with the Washington Bottom VFD did not respond to requests for comment by print deadline Thursday.