BELGRADE – A bolt of lightning made such a mess of Mike Atwood’s home that he and his family are looking for another place to live for at least a few months.

While Atwood and his family were at his son’s Little League game Tuesday evening, thunderstorms passed through the area.

A bolt of lightning hit a tree in their back yard, traveled through the roots to the pool and through the house before blasting a transformer near the Atwoods’ Stony Point Road home.

The lightning blasted out the windows, leaving broken glass and debris all over the soot-covered house. It fried the electrical wiring and blew out appliances. The deck was damaged and house foundation may have also been damaged.

“Stuff was flying out of the walls,” Atwood said. “Thank God nobody was home.”

Neighbors said they saw a cloud of dust rise above the house shortly after the strike.

Belgrade Fire Chief Jeffrey Stevens said he saw “unbelievable destruction” when he got to the site, adding that he had only seen that kind of damage in training films.

But Stevens added that strikes like the one Tuesday often cause fires. That didn’t happen because the Atwood house was wired well and is situated close to a transformer where the electricity had an easy exit point, he said.

Atwood, who lived in the house with his wife Tracey and four children, said it will take at least until the end of the summer to repair the damage so the family can return. Now, they will have to search for a rental home that allows children and pets.

The blast came at a bad time for the Atwoods, just days before a planned vacation to Mexico. It also happened 14 months after Atwood’s brother was killed in Skowhegan when a salt truck he was unloading hit a power line.