CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Investigators have determined the August home explosion in Glenmore that killed one person and critically injured another was caused by a lightning strike that hit a gas line days before the blast, Albemarle County Fire Rescue chief Dan Eggleston told Cville Right Now.

“We believe, based on the evidence, that lightning struck the gas line and ruptured the gas line,” Eggleston said. “The line, when it ruptures, it usually burns. This one might have burned and then went out. We suspect that it flooded the house with gas and then when the woman came in and flicked the light switch or ignited it, it blew up.”

Eggleston also said that the male victim who was transported to VCU’s burn unit is recovering.

“They’re doing better, much better,” Eggleston said. “It was a tragic situation.”

A house on the 2300 block of Ferndown Lane in the Glenmore subdivision of Keswick was leveled by an explosion Aug. 19.

The blast killed 76-year-old Justine M. Joscelyne and injured the second victim. Residents of 12 neighboring homes were displaced.

Eggleston said the investigation included 30 ATF agents, engineers and scientists from Washington D.C., in addition to personnel from ACFR and the Albemarle County Fire Marshal’s office.

“That was such an intense investigation,” Eggleston said.