DANVILLE, Ill. (WCIA) — Wednesday’s severe weather kept some people wide awake as storms ravaged across Central Illinois. In Danville, though, something else woke Kaylee Haynes. 

“I was in bed, woke up probably around 4:00 in the morning out of a dead sleep,” Haynes said.

She smelled smoke and immediately started checking for flames in her house near Hegeler Avenue and Georgetown Road. While she was busy with that, her dog, Scooby, helped wake the three other people in the house. 

“Our dog went and got my mom woke up, went and woke up by boyfriend’s friend who was staying with us, that way everybody could get out,” she said.

Haynes said if it weren’t for Scooby, things could be a lot worse. 

“That’s probably what I’m most grateful for is that we all did get out, because everything can be replaced, but we can’t,” Haynes said. 

Westville Fire Protection District Chief Mark Ames said crews first saw heavy fire coming from under the home before it spread to the attic. It took multiple agencies about an hour to put out the flames. 

Parts of the house, clothing and pictures inside are gone

“It’s been really hard, honestly, because it’s a lot of sentimental things you’ll never get back,” Haynes said. 

Tornadoes and thunderstorms plagued multiple counties across Central Illinois last week. Haynes thinks that’s what started the fire. 

“There was a thunderstorm that was going on,” she said. “We did hear thunder and lightning that sounded [like] it had hit really close to us.”

Ames said the cause of the fire is unknown, but said the Vermilion County EMA told him there were four confirmed lightning strikes around the time of the 911 call.

“It’s just one of those things that, obviously, no one’s ever prepared for,” Haynes said.

Haynes and her family said it’s a devastating time working to recover and figure out next steps, but said they’re lucky to be going through the situation together. 

They’re staying in a hotel until they can find a new home. You can support their journey here.