A Gatehouse electricity substation exploded after a direct hit from a lightning bolt on Saturday afternoon.
The station on Digby Street burst into flames after the strike sending a pall of black smoke over the town.
Ian Firth, who lives in nearby Stellage Court, told the News: “It was like a concussion grenade going off. There was no time between the flash and the bang at all. You could feel the shock wave from the hit.”
In nearby Catherine Street, Elaine Scott was watching the storm when the substation exploded.
She said: “There was a huge bang and the whole house shook. I went out the front door and there was black smoke billowing up from the substation.”
Electricity supplies were knocked out to hundreds of homes in and around Gatehouse. Power was restored to most properties within 90 minutes but a few outlying homes remained offline until Sunday morning.
Gatehouse town clock was knocked out and recorded the time of the strike – 4.05pm. It was back in working order on Sunday.
Fire crews from Gatehouse, Castle Douglas and Newton Stewart dealt with the blaze.
The surrounding area was cordoned off for several hours.
Gatehouse watch manager Andy Dale said: “A road closure was put in place and we had to wait until Scottish Power engineers had got the high voltage and low voltage supplies isolated before anything could be done.
