ST. AMANT - Fire officials say lightning sparked a fire that damaged an Ascension Parish barn and its valuable contents.

The fire was reported after 5 p.m. off Weber City Road in St. Amant. The flames were contained by 5:45 p.m.

WOW! Lightning struck this barn in St. Amant starting a fire that naturally stopped right before this cross @WBRZ pic.twitter.com/W1qiiASb27

— Sydney Kern (@sydneykern) April 18, 2019

St. Amant Fire Chief James LeBlanc tells WBRZ lightning struck the outside of the barn, bending the metal. Bales of hay sitting in the area soon caught fire. 

"We had about 65 to 70, nearly 100 bales of hay," LeBlanc said. "That's where it started and then it worked its way into the barn."

The goal, LeBlanc says, was to move the bales of hay away so firefighters could enter the barn.

"The barn has a couple of old antique cars in it, and a boat," LeBlanc added.

Two cars sitting inside were built in the 1950’s. The prized possessions rare and unique are now scorched, but not destroyed.

"It's going to be a big loss, definitely," said LeBlanc. "There's damage, but we're able to save the antique cars and we were able to save the boat.”

No injuries were reported.