Brendan Simpkins

SOUTH Australians were treated to a spectacular show last Tuesday night as a thunder storm moved across the state.

More than 300,000 lightning strikes took place around SA over the course of the night, with more than 170,000 occurring by 9.30pm.

A combination of wind, warm weather and the lightning strikers caused 146 fires which kept local firefighters busy throughout the night.

Close to home, fires were sparked in areas such as Angle Vale, Virginia, Lewiston, Two Wells, Seppeltsfield and Angaston.

Christine Gumm of Cockatoo Valley had a strike that was a little too close for comfort, with lightning hitting a tree on her property.

Elsewhere, firefighters from Roseworthy CFS were deployed to the Yorke Peninsula alongside a strike team from the Light region, initially to Port Clinton before being redirected to Balaklava and Bute.

Crews assisted with a ‘mop up’ at Bute early on Wednesday morning.

Country Fire Service chief officer Mark Jones said Tuesday’s storm provided the first challenge ahead of fire danger season.

“The majority of the fires were expertly extinguished due to the fast response of our state’s firefighters backed by rapid deployment of aerial support on the larger incidents,” he said.

“Whilst this is the first bushfire test of the season, both fire services continue to work together to deliver high quality safety services to the public across the state.

“I would also like to thank those who operated Farm Fire Units who did an excellent job putting out smaller fires on their properties, without the CFS needing to attend.”

More than 32,000 homes were left without power during the storm.