Residents return to assess the fire damage at their Orange County apartment

ORLANDO, Fla. — On Thursday morning, sunlight allowed WFTV to fly a drone over The Parkway Hunters Creek Apartment Complex.

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Drone 9 aerial view of damage at Parkway at Hunters Creek apartments (WFTV)

What was left was a shell of multiple apartment units, burned out after a possible lightning strike sparked a fire and eventually caused parts of the roof to collapse.

Luckily no one was hurt, but the building is now condemned.

Thursday morning, residents returned to what was once their homes to see what they could salvage.

Read: Officials: Lightning strike could be the cause of apartment fire and roof collapse in Orange County

Residents were told mother nature was to blame for the fire that destroyed their homes.

“The complex across the street got hit by lightening. it was likely the same thing,” resident Paul Rose said.

The fire started around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, as storms rolled through much of Central Florida.

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Orange County apartment fire and partial roof collapse

According to the fire department, the first fire crews arrived within five to eight minutes when they found heavy fire coming from the building.

Read: Storms flip over 3 aircrafts at Kissimmee airport

Fire crews entered the building and started aggressively fighting the flames, but the roof partially collapsed and forced the fire crews to evacuate.

Three apartment units were involved in the fire and 40 people were evacuated from the area as firefighters fought the blaze.

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Red Cross is assisting 40 residents, including children, affected by the fire.

The Red Cross said they will have caseworkers available to help residents with resources and through the recovery process.

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