Webster apartment residents forced to start over after lightning-sparked fire

WEBSTER, Texas (KTRK) -- Several families are homeless after a fire at an apartment complex on El Dorado Boulevard in the Webster area.

The Houston Fire Department has now confirmed it was sparked by lightning.

Twelve units were destroyed.

"It's crazy how some things can happen so fast, some things so unexpected like that," said Jalen Jones, who has lived there for a year. "A lightning strike. What are the odds?"

Neighbor Carlos Delgado saw the strike and yelled for help.

"It was so quick. Like, we saw the fire, and then all of a sudden, it's the whole roof of the whole building," Delgado explained. "It started smoking."

Everybody made it out safely, but on Friday, there's nothing left to go back to.

Six families who lost their homes have children at Clear Creek ISD.

RELATED: 52 Clear Creek ISD students among victims displaced after apartment fire in Webster

According to a district spokesperson, Clear Creek ISD has raised $8,000 in donations in less than 24 hours and plans to give each family $1,300.

"When I got up this morning, I feel lost, but as the day go by, and I focus more on my God, I believe he's in control of this. I am at peace," said Sonia Joseph, who has two children in the district.

For more on this story, follow Pooja Lodhia on Facebook,Twitter and Instagram.