Henry County church cleans up after lightning fire

HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — McDonough Presbyterian Church leaders are trying to assess the damage after a lightning strike fire.

Church members showed up Tuesday to see the damage. Channel 2’s Sophia Choi reported from the church in Henry County, where she was told most of the damage was from smoke and water.

“The entire church was filled with smoke and probably the entire church is smoke damaged," Rev. Olin McBride said.

The pastor said someone driving by noticed it and called 911 before the flames could spread to other parts of the building.

McBride is thankful that no one was in the church when it happened because it was Memorial Day.

The church moved to its Henry County location in the 1960s and built the last part, the administrative offices, in 2004. The smoke and water damage is concentrated in the administrative office area of the church. That area that now needs to be rebuilt.

“Ordinarily, on a regular Monday, the church would have been filled with various groups, especially in this administrative wing,” McBride said.

Some of the items damaged were banner tartans bearing the family names of parishioners. Youth Ministry Director Destiny Williams told Choi about the parishioners’ concerns.

“The fact that nobody was in the church, they were kind of relieved, but then they were like, ‘OK, what happens next? What about Sunday worship?’” Williams said.

The big concern for everyone was the sanctuary.

“We will have church service whether it’s outside or in the sanctuary. We don’t think the sanctuary was damaged so we will have services this Sunday,” McBride said.

McBride said they’re still assessing the damage, but it could take months to fix.

WSBTV