VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — If you were near the area of the old Pembroke Mall Saturday night, you may have seen a pretty shocking sight: Flames shooting several feet into the air with no apparent source.
A spokesperson for Virginia Natural Gas said that lightning had struck a power pole and melted the plastic gas line, which caused the fire.
The department responded shortly before 9:30 p.m. to a report of a fire in a median in the parking lot of Pembroke Mall between the Fresh Market and Target stores. There was a downed power pole there, about 40 to 50 feet from any structures.
It's unclear if the fire caused the pole to come down or vice versa. It's also unclear if it was somehow caused by storms moving through the area at the time.
Firefighters extinguished the flames. Virginia Natural Gas was called in to shut down the gas line, and the incident was cleared before 1 a.m.
The fire department spokesperson said there was no damage to any buildings or vehicles, and that no one was injured.