WINDHAM – A fire sparked by a bolt of lightning destroyed a hilltop home at 1 Timberlane Road yesterday.

No one was injured in the three-alarm blaze, which was reported just before 6 p.m.

The couple who owns the home were on vacation in Mexico, and were told about the fire by their adult son, who lives in Haverhill, Mass.

Windham Fire Chief Thomas McPherson said when firefighters first arrived, they saw heavy smoke and initially attempted to enter the home through the attic. They had to back out after discovering how dangerous the conditions were.

From there, he said, the department went to "defensive operations," trying to keep the fire contained. Around 7:30 p.m., the home's roof collapsed.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle for rescue workers, McPherson said, was the lack of water. Tanker trucks had to continually be brought in to supply firefighters with water.

McPherson blamed the fire on the strange weather pattern that swept through Windham last night. In addition to this home, four others were also hit by lightning, he said. None caught on "active fire" like the Timberlane Road home.

"We had some kind of a micro-burst," he said, noting that the area experienced heavy rain, lightning and hail almost simultaneously.

No one was injured in the blaze. At 10 p.m., firefighters were still at the scene.

According to neighbor Tom Missert, who lives two doors down, the houses in the subdivision are around five years old. He said he moved into his home around 2001 or 2002, and all the homes on the block were built around the same time.

Homes in the neighborhood typically sell for more than $1 million.

Missert expressed astonishment at the cause of the fire.

"One bolt of lightning," Missert said, shaking his head in amazement.

Kevin Edwards, who lives nearby, was home when he saw smoke. At first, he thought a historic barn across the street had caught fire.

Another neighbor, 16-year-old Brett Logan, was returning from lacrosse practice when he learned he could not enter his street. The road was cordoned off by police and fire personnel.

When Logan finally got to see what all the commotion was about, he witnessed a crowd of about 20 gathered around the large home, which had smoke and flames billowing from its windows and shooting from the roof.

After about a half-hour, Logan said the crowd of onlookers grew to around 50-plus.

Firefighters from nearly a dozen departments assisted Windham. They included rescue workers from Atkinson, Derry, Litchfield, Plaistow, Nashua, Salem, Pelham, Londonderry and Hampstead.