Cloud to ground lightning strikes during a fierce electrical storm early Saturday morning are suspected in a tank explosion and fire at Drilling Fluids Technology, northwest of Kingfisher.

Kingfisher Fire Department received a call at 2:35 a.m. Saturday reporting an explosion at the location, according to KFD records.

Firefighters arriving at the scene could see the glow and smoke from the blaze for a mile away, according to the report.

The first unit at the scene found fiberglass tanks on the north side of the location, containing what was later determined to be methanol, had exploded and were burning and a metal tank containing xylene had vented and was burning from the vented openings, according to the report.

Ross and Lou Barrick live directly east of the DFT location and heard both the lightning strike and subsequent explosion.

“Around 2:30 this morning our house shook and our sleep was interrupted between the thunder and the explosion,” he wrote on Facebook. “Out our bedroom window we could see a big fire behind us at Drilling Fluids Technology.”

The Barricks and other neighbors in the immediate area were briefly evacuated over concerns that shifting winds might endanger their homes, but were able to return within hours.

Meanwhile, “neighbors were helping neighbors, from relocating horses to checking on each other,” Barrick said.

Eventually, 13 vehicles and 25 personnel were involved in fighting the blaze, with Loyal, Dover and Okarche fire departments lending assistance.

No DFT personnel were on site at the time of the explosion, but a representative arrived shortly after and helped the firefighters determine which of the surrounding containers contained combustible materials and how best to extinguish the blaze, according to the KFD report.

A warehouse structure adjacent to the fire was damaged in the explosion but not actively burning.

While water was used to cool adjacent tanks, fire-suppressant foam was applied to extinguish the fire.

The fire was under control by 4:32 a.m. and the last unit cleared the scene at 7:31 a.m. when DFT representatives determined it was safe enough for them to take control and begin cleanup efforts., according to the report.