Jacqueline Albert stood strong Thursday afternoon as she watched firefighters dig through the house she grew up in, its insides badly burned.

The 22-year-old wasn’t home when the fire at 6 Soundview Drive in Pawcatuck began about 10:30 a.m. — the same time a small but powerful storm was wreaking havoc in southeastern Connecticut, knocking out power and leaving two people with lightning-related injuries.

But her father was, and his story is pretty wild, Albert said.

“I was at work and my dad called me, all frantic,” she said. “I couldn’t understand what he was saying.”

It didn’t take long for her to learn, however, that her house was on fire.

“He said he was on the computer when all of a sudden there was a flash of lightning, everything was bright in the house,” Albert said. “My dad, he’s hard of hearing, so he doesn’t realize just how loud it was.”

But neighbors and even friends as far away as Westerly reported having heard a couple of specific booms — the kind that seemed connected with lightning when it hits something other than a tree — around the time the fire ignited.

According to Kevin Burns, chief and marshal of the Pawcatuck Fire Department, the severely damaged house “more than probably” was struck by lightning.

He said firefighters struggled for a time because the fire spread through the home’s electrical system and its multiple points of origin made it “stubborn.”

The difficulty was compounded when the sun came back out — and with it, killer humidity.

“We had to call in several departments because of the heat and weather conditions to keep the guys from getting injured,” Burns said.

About 2 p.m., members of the Pawcatuck, Westerly, North Stonington, Wequetequock and Old Mystic fire departments were on scene, many of them sweating profusely.

Burns said firefighters were being rotated between the fire and a nearby station with food and water to avoid injury.

By 2:30 p.m., many of the firefighters were heading out. Burns said the next step was to determine officially — with assistance from the state fire marshal — the cause and origin of the fire.

As for Albert, she said a childhood friend has given her some clothes to get her through the next few days, and that the closest of her three sisters, who lives in Long Island, N.Y., has offered to lend space in her relatively new living quarters if she, her mom and her dad need it.

In the meantime, the American Red Cross is helping the three displaced residents.

“We believe in God,” Albert said. “If God wanted a lightning strike to go through my house ... I mean, it happens for a reason. I think that’s the only peace that we have.”

Albert’s home wasn’t the only victim of Thursday morning’s vicious lightning — not one, but two residents also were struck.

Just 7 miles from Albert’s house, in the area of 359 North Stonington Road, a man reported having been struck by lightning, according to Stonington police Capt. Todd Olson.

Olson said Thursday morning that the man was alert and speaking first with dispatchers, then with emergency responders.

Crews took him to the hospital for evaluation, but the circumstances surrounding how he was hit weren’t immediately clear.

In Montville, lightning struck another resident — the daughter of Chesterfield Fire Co. Chief Keith Truex.

Members of the Truex family couldn’t immediately be reached Thursday afternoon, but a next-door neighbor described seeing the bolt that hit 20-year-old Melissa outside her 1046 East Lake Road home.

“I was standing at this window,” Richard Mencarelli said, gesturing to a window at the front left of the house, “when a bolt came right out, right over the house: whoosh, hiss, boom.”

He said it seemed to hit something in the back of the house — possibly the pool pump.

Moments before, he’d seen Melissa lean up against a post in front of the house, apparently looking at its gutter.

“Somehow she got hit,” he said, describing the deep orange shade the bolt took on as it neared the earth. “It was pretty powerful. The window rattled, and the floor rumbled, too.”

According to Montville police Lt. Leonard Bunnell, crews took the woman to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries, but she wasn't burned and only was experiencing a little tingling.

The storm caused damage in East Lyme as well, where state Route 161 remain closed at Drabik Road until 6 p.m. as crews worked to repair damage caused by a fallen tree.

Trees, limbs and wires also fell on roads including Alscot Drive, Colony Road, Whistletown Road and Mostowy Road, according to state police.

More than 2,000 area residents were without power at the outset of the storm, but Eversource’s power outage map showed Thursday evening that all but a few had regained power.

The National Weather Service had issued a special weather statement warning of strong winds in advance of the storm, but it expired at 10:15 a.m.

l.boyle@theday.com