Storms spark fires in SEQ

October 10, 2007 - 5:25AM

Lightning sparked house fires north of Brisbane as wild weather swept through south-east Queensland yesterday for the third day in a row.

Emergency crews attended fires caused by direct lightning strikes and power poles catching alight from exploding transformers.

An Emergency Management Queensland spokesman last night said Deception Bay and Bribie Island were the worst hit areas with homes also affected by fallen power lines, a large gum tree toppling and flooding.

The sky over south-east Queensland again lit up with strike after strike of lightning as the storm blew in late yesterday afternoon, knocking out power supply to around 7000 homes in northern suburbs.

Rain and fear of hail plunged peak hour commutes into chaos, with traffic coming to a halt on several main roads. There were a number of accidents during the storm, with visibility cut and traffic moving slowly.

Hail was reported to the north at Deception Bay and Caboolture, and the south at Beaudesert. Just over the border in New South Wales, a hospital had to be evacuated because of large hail stones.

More than 10,000 lightning strikes were recorded in the region on Monday night.