(NECN: Tom Langford) - In the Boston area, a cleanup is underway after strong storms brought down trees and power lines and sparked fires.
Some of the most serious damage from the storm was in Braintree, Massachusetts.
Lightening struck a home on Central Avenue and sparked a fire.
"I'm just glad that everyone's okay," Stephen Woodman said.
Woodman's brother and sister in-law live in the house.
He said, "I'm glad that everyone's alright... I just wish it had happened someplace that wasn't inhabited. If it had to happen, why here?"
The fire started in the middle of a sudden, strong thunderstorm.
Neighbor Mike Moran said, "We heard, with the initial lightening, a large crack, and it sounded like something got hit -- we thought a tree or something like that, but then we came out five minutes later and saw the house up in smoke."
The storm caused scattered damage across the Boston area.
In Walpole, this tree fell on a car.
In Hull, power crews had to fix downed poles and lines and limbs and branches were tossed onto the roof of Larry Cowen's home.
He says the strangest thing about the storm was how quickly it blew through.
He estimates, it lasted no more than a minute.
"It was very fast. Very fast. By the time I reacted to it, it was pretty much done."
