Thunderstorms keep fire crews busy (From York Press)

Thunderstorms keep fire crews busy

10:30am Monday 2nd July 2007 in Ryedale news By Press reporter

THUNDER storms saw North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service tackling a variety of incidents across the county.

A combination of heavy rain and lightning yesterday meant the service had to deal with tree fires and flooding, as well as investigating numerous premises - including Castle Howard - where it turned out fire alarms had been triggered by the storm.

The fire brigade was called to a house that had flooded in Sandy Lane, Haxby.

A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said it did not know how badly the property had been affected, but that it was not believed any other homes had been hit.

Fire crews were called to pump water out of six properties in Hugden Close, Pickering, where residents were trying to use sandbags to hold back the rising tide of water.

There was also flooding in the Rawcliffe area of York, Thornton-le-Clay, Malton and Norton.

There was concern when a tree on fire believed to have been started by the lightning - alongside the westbound carriageway of the A64, near Grimston Bar - threatened to fall on to the road.

At the time of going to press, council officers were trying to remove the tree with a chain saw.

At the time of going to press, the fire service was dealing with a blaze at Scarborough Rugby Union clubhouse.

Some parts of York also suffered a power cut during the storm on Sunday afternoon, including at City Screen cinema, in Coney Street, where a film stopped showing for about 20 minutes.