Lightning struck the Dufur Methodist church at the peak of a severe thunder shower about 5 o’clock Sunday afternoon, starting a fire that burned the church to the ground, according to word received here today from Dufur residents.

According to Mrs. J. A. Clausen the wooden church building appeared literally to “explode,” when the lightning bolt struck. The entire building almost immediately was a mass of flames. The accompanying downpour of rain prevented the fire from spreading to adjoining buildings, Mrs. Clausen said.