Fire at abandoned cabin caused by lightning strike

A long abandoned cabin on the side of Camp Wahsega Road burned to the ground in a literal flash Saturday afternoon.
Lumpkin County Emergencey Services Chief David Wimpy said a sudden bolt from a pop-up thunderstorm was most likely the culprit behind the fast burning blaze that took down the old Jones home in a matter of minutes.
“The way it hit that old pine wood,” he said, “it just went up fast.”
The old stone and wood home is located on the edge of CF Collins’ cow pasture just before Guy Wimpy Airport.
As the old building burst into flames passersby stopped in the street and called 911.
Lumpkin County and Camp Frank D. Merrill firefighters were on the scene within minutes.
But at that point it became a matter of keeping the fire contained.
“It was already half on the ground,” said Wimpy. “We were just trying to keep everything else from spreading.”
They were successful as firefighter remained on scene until the flames were gone.
Though as of Monday the building was still steadily smoking. That’s a normal occurrence when it comes to old pine buildings, said Wimpy.
“It’s probably going to smolder for a few days or so,” he said.