Fire engulfs Massachusetts church after reports of lightning strikes

A church in Massachusetts caught fire Tuesday night after lightning reportedly struck the building.

Firefighters battled flames at the First Baptist Church in Wakefield, roughly 15 miles north of Boston, as the Wakefield Police Department tweeted that the blaze was “an active fire.”

The church, according to its website, is close to 150 years old and is a “landmark at the center of town with its 180-foot spire.”

Earlier Tuesday evening, a thunderstorm with “blinding lightning flashes” hit the area, the Wakefield Patch website reported.