Evening star., 1936-07-28
LIGHTNING FIRES
HOME IN FAIRFAX;
HITS MONUMENT
Residence of Arthur Godfrey
Partially DeStroyed-Dam.
age Here Is Slight.
SHOWERS AND COOLER
TONIGHT FORECAST
Sylvan Theater Performers Flee
in Costumes as Storm
Breaks.

One of the most spectacular cleo
trical storms Of the Summer drove
down the humid temperature in the
Washington area last night, put did
little damage other than the partial
destruction of the Fairfax County
home of Arthur Godfrey. radio an
nouncer of Sun Dial" and Moon
Diar' fame.
The Weather Bureau forecast more
showers for tonight and tomorrow. to
be followed by cooler weather. The
temperature last night dropped from
81 just before the storm broke to "
an hour later. Yesterdays high was
"a. At 3 am. today the temperature
was at a 24-hour low of 70 degrees.
but had risen to II in five hours.
A vivid bolt of lightning, which
struck Godfrey's home on the old
Leesburg pike. started a fire that de-
stroyed the living room and down.
stairs hallway. Other rooms were
badly damaged by water and smoke.
Godfrey estimated the loss at $4,000.
Godfrey said the loss was partly COW
cred by insurance, but things had been
destroyed which could not be replaced,
among them old hunting prints and
souvenirs collected in Turkey during
the siege of Smyrna. He was espe-
cially upset by the loss of records OF
horse breeding transactions on his
farm. The knowledge that his horses
and colts, which he raises for sale, had
escaped injury was some compensation
for the other losses. however. Godfrey
said.
Miles away at the time, Godfrey
saw the bolt that set fire to the
house. He and Maxine Doyle. movie
actress and former mistress of cere-
monies at the Earle Theater, were
driving to Washington from Alex
andria. where they had dined, when
the bolt split the sky in the west.
Flames spurted skyward.
Some poor fellows lost his house.
Godfrey remarked.
When Godfrey reached WJSV to
conduct his Moon Dial" program a
half hour later he learned he was the
poor fellow"
The lightning Travelled into the
house over an antenna leading to
Godfrey's radio receiver. Not frag-
ment of the machine was left.
Fire departments of Vienna. Nc
Lean, Herndon and Falls Church
fought the blaze for two hours
Fqorian Villori. Godfrey's Filipino
servant. was the only person in the
house at the time. Two canaries
were suffocated by smoke
Lightning also struck the Wash
ington Monument, extinguishing the
airplane warning lights that CLEAN
from the observation windows. Gus.
todians said this was a common.
place occurrence. The bolt Travelled
from conductors on the peak to Z
switchboard, blowing out a fuse Re
sultant sparks did not frighter
guards, who are accustomed to having
lightning score as many as dozer
direct hits" during each thunder.
storm
Sylvan Theater performers, staging
a dress rehearsal on the Monumen
Grounds, fled in their period costume
at the first clap of thunder. They hat
been preparing for the Shakespear
festival tonight. The rehearsal wa
transferred to the Central High Schoo
auditorium. Producers said they dit
not believe the scenery or amplifyin,
system had been damaged.
Edward c. Potter, insurance sales
man, was in the living room of hi
home at GOT jefferson street with hi
wife and small niece and nephew whel
a bolt hit the radio aerial. Potte
was knocked to his knees and tenn
porarily stunned. The aerial wire wa
dissolved. The Potters called the Fir,
Department, but there was Just a 10
Of smoke.
Despite crashes of thunder ant
sheets OF lightning, other damage wa
negligible.
Homes in the vicinity Of Naylor roas
and Fairlawn avenue southeast wer,
temporarily darkened when the storm
knocked down some electric wires.
Lightning set fire to a tree in tn.
5000 block Of Reno road, and in tn,
second precinct several tree limb.
were snapped of. Harbor police sale
there were no marine mishaps.
Park police reported no serious dam.
age in their bailiwick. The new
Piney Branch road under the Six.
teenth Street Bridge, parts of which