CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Nine businesses in a Clinton Township complex were completely destroyed after lightning from the recent storms struck the building.
Walter Holdan's accounting firm and several other businesses in the complex were on fire after lightning struck the building.
"I was driving down Garfield and saw the smoke and I said, 'Hope that isn't our building,'" said Holdan. "When I arrived here the flames were about 20 feet up in the air."
Firefighters found the exact spot where the lightning hit.
"We had heavy smoke coming from the roof," said Randy Kandt, of Clinton Township Fire and Rescue.
"Basically it stayed between the roof and the ceiling but most of the building has water and smoke damage," said Kandt. "Stopped the fire from coming into the building. Medical faculty, records, etc., bring them out for salvage."
Evening storms rolled through metro Detroit causing major problems, such as downed wires in Grosse Pointe. A family's home in Royal Oak was crushed by a tree.
But the poor folks in Clinton Township had the worst damage. All nine businesses were completely destroyed.
"Really a tragedy," said Holdan. "You feel helpless."