Lucie County Fire District crews contained a brush fire near the 1900 block of Castinet Lane on Friday after reports that a lightning strike ignited vegetation in a nearby lot. The fire was one of several incidents during severe weather that brought waterspouts, heavy rain and significant lightning activity across the Treasure Coast and Palm Beach County. WPTV weather spotter Merry Moore O'Rourke said her rain gauge caught over 3 inches of rain as the storms moved through Port St. Lucie.
Fire crews also responded to a house fire at the 900 block of Bellevue Avenue during the evening. WPTV radar picked up a significant amount of lightning in the area at the time of the storm, though Lucie County Fire District said it cannot confirm the cause as the fire marshal's office still needs to investigate. The severe weather stretched to Okeechobee County, where fire rescue crews airlifted a man to the hospital after he was struck by lightning. Moore O'Rourke described the conditions as the storms approached, saying the sky got black, wind started raging and the sky lit up like she had not seen before.