What we know about the Bartow lightning fires
Lightning from Sunday night storms, September 20, started two structure fires in Bartow County. An outdoor storage building on Griffin Road in Cartersville took moderate damage, and a detached garage on Chestnut Street in Adairsville was heavily damaged. Bartow County crews confirmed both fires were storm-related (Patch Cartersville).
Lightning-caused fires on the I-75 corridor almost always involve detached structures, because that's what stands alone in an open yard. If your garage, shop, barn, or shed took a strike this storm season, the rest of this page applies to you.
Where lightning claims lose money
01 The Other Structures limit runs out
Coverage B is usually set at 10 percent of your dwelling limit, and that single number covers every detached structure on the property combined: garage, shed, barn, fence, gazebo. A full garage rebuild with today's framing, electrical, and code costs can use up most of it by itself.
Counter: check your declarations page for an increased Other Structures endorsement. Make sure the debris removal and code-upgrade coverages are claimed separately, since they're often additional coverage and don't come out of the Coverage B limit.
Read the declarations page first02 The contents get undervalued
Tools, lawn equipment, workbenches, freezers, and stored household items are covered under Coverage C. Carriers often pay these at actual cash value first, which for a ten-year-old tool collection can be a fraction of what it costs to replace.
Counter: if your policy has replacement cost on contents, submit a full itemized inventory, and recover the held-back depreciation as you replace items. Watch the sublimits on business property if the building was used for work.
Inventory before you haul anything away03 Surge damage in the main house never gets claimed
A strike near a detached building can send a surge through underground lines into the main house. HVAC boards, well pumps, garage door openers, and electronics may fail days or weeks later, and homeowners rarely connect it to the storm.
Counter: get a written report from an electrician or HVAC technician that ties the failure to the storm date. Add it to the same claim, under the same deductible.
Same storm, same claim, same deductibleWhat to do after a lightning strike
- Get the fire department's incident number and ask whether lightning was noted as the cause. That record answers the carrier's first question.
- Photograph and video the structure and everything in it before cleanup or demolition.
- List the contents with make, model, and approximate age. Use receipts, online orders, and old photos.
- Walk the main house. Test the HVAC, well pump, garage door openers, appliances, and electronics. Write down anything that isn't working.
- Report the claim and get the claim number in writing. Don't let the call end with only the garage on the claim.
- Don't sign a rebuild contract until the scope is agreed. See Hiring a Contractor After an Insurance Settlement in Georgia.
Free claim review for Bartow County lightning losses
If lightning hit your garage, shop, barn, or shed in Cartersville, Adairsville, or anywhere along the I-75 corridor, a Georgia public adjuster can check whether all three buckets are being paid. No fee unless the carrier pays.
Frequently asked questions
Is lightning damage covered by my homeowners policy?
Yes. Lightning is one of the named perils on every standard Georgia HO-3 policy. Fire caused by lightning is covered, and so is power-surge damage from a strike to your electrical system, appliances, and electronics.
My detached garage burned. Is it covered the same as my house?
It's covered, but under a different bucket. Detached garages, sheds, barns, and storage buildings fall under Coverage B, Other Structures, which is usually 10 percent of your dwelling limit. On a $300,000 home, that's often $30,000 for every detached structure combined. A heavily damaged garage plus a fence or shed can hit that cap fast.
What about the tools and equipment that were in the garage?
Your belongings in a detached structure are generally covered under Coverage C, personal property, not Coverage B. But watch the special limits: business equipment, firearms, and some other categories have low sublimits. A vehicle parked inside is covered under your auto policy's comprehensive coverage, not your homeowners policy.
Lightning hit near the house but nothing burned. Do I have a claim?
Possibly. Surge damage is common after a nearby strike: HVAC control boards, well pumps, garage door openers, TVs, routers, and appliances can fail days later. An electrician's or HVAC technician's written report tying the failure to the storm date is what makes these claims pay.
The bottom line
Lightning is about as clearly covered as a loss gets. The question isn't whether the carrier pays. It's whether they pay the full Other Structures limit, the full contents value, and the surge damage in the house. Those are three separate claims inside one storm, and every one of them needs its own documentation.