SILVER SPRING, Md. — Montgomery County firefighters received several reports of lightning strikes as intense storms rolled through the D.C. area Monday afternoon.

[related_gallery align=”right”]The lightning downed a large tree limb in the backyard of a house on First Avenue in Silver Spring, just a couple of blocks from Georgia Avenue.

The lightning strike also hit the house, burning holes in one of its aluminum downspouts.

Montgomery County firefighters quickly responded and were forced to rip siding from the house’s addition to reach the lightning path.

The lightning scorched insulation within the walls and also knocked out power to the home.

Pete Piringer, spokesman for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue, says there were at least four lightning strikes in the area, including strikes on two utility poles not far from the home on First Avenue.