It took firefighters from as far away as Queensbury to stop a stubborn fire on Zion Lutheran Church's steeple, 165 feet in the air, early Sunday morning.
The blaze at the Cobleskill church started after the steeple was struck right at its top by lightning at about 5:30pm during a rare winter thunderstorm.
"We could see the crack of lightning. It lit up all of Main Street," said Pastor Sara Litzner, who lives next to the church.
But she didn't know the bolt struck the church until about 20 minutes later, when a Cobleskill Police Officer came to say the steeple was on fire.
Cobleskill Fire Chief Phil Slater said his volunteers arrived at about 6:15 and made sure the fire didn't spread to the rest of the church.
Cobleskill's aerial truck, however, couldn't reach the steeple fire, so firefighters called in Oneonta.
"Oneonta brought a 100-footer, but that couldn't reach it, either," Chief Slater said.
Considering the rest of the church safe from the blaze, firefighters let the steeple smolder while figuring out what to do.
"I went down to the firehouse while they were strategizing on how to get it out," Pastor Litzner said.
"You could see in their faces and voices that they were frustrated. They wanted to get it out but couldn't reach it."
Queensbury's aerial truck, with a 134-foot ladder, arrived after a two-and-a-half hour drive, and "they put it out just before 3am," Chief Slater said.
"I've never seen a fire like that," he said.
Dale Nunamann, one of Schoharie County's Deputy Fire Coordinators, agreed with Chief Slater.
"In 30-some years of firefighting, I've never seen something like that," he said. "Usually a strike on a steeple is lower, not at the top.
"This was a really freaky thing, a once-in-a-lifetime thing."
Pastor Litzner and others said heavy rain hit Cobleskill in the late afternoon before the lightning strike and fire.
"The embers were blowing all over the place," Dr. Litzner said. "If it wasn't for the moisture, the whole village might have burned."
Chief Slater said fire damage was limited to 10 to 15 feet at the top of the steeple. The church itself suffered water and smoke damage, and members of the congregation were soaking up the water on Sunday.
The sanctuary is off limits, so the congregation had worship services in an adjoining conference room Sunday morning.
Pastor Litzner and the Church Council are considering how to proceed with the steeple. (See related story.)
She was grateful for the firefighters' persistence.
"I'm very proud of the fire departments and volunteers and auxiliary," Pastor Litzner said. "They worked really hard.
"And we've already had so much support from the community. We live in a wonderful community, and it gives us hope."