Firefighters watch as the fire burns Friday morning at the Genesee Apostolic Tabernacle Church, W313-S4214 Highway 83 in Genesee Depot. The church, about 100 years old, sustained significant structural damage.

The charred steeple still stands Friday morning after the Genesee Apostolic Tabernacle Church, W313-S4214 Highway 83 in Genesee Depot, burned overnight. Wales-Genesee Fire Department Assistant Chief Jim Moon said the fire was likely started by a lightning strike.

GENESEE DEPOT - Joanne Backhaus heard a clap of thunder and then "the loudest lightning strike I’ve ever heard" in the wee hours of Friday morning. She and her husband, Bill, tried to get back to sleep, but then saw bright flashes coming from the yard next door.

That bright flash was a fire at the about 100-year-old Genesee Apostolic Tabernacle Church, W313-S4214 Highway 83, likely caused by lightning, said Wales-Genesee Fire Department Assistant Chief Jim Moon. The fire was first reported by another neighbor at about 2:30 a.m. and 10 fire departments responded to the scene of the blaze.

No one was in the church at the time of the fire and no one was living in the church’s attached parsonage, Moon said. One Wales-Genesee firefighter suffered a minor injury at the scene and was treated and released from Waukesha Memorial Hospital, he said.

The walls, bell tower and cross are still standing at the church, which was previously St. Paul’s Catholic Church, though the future of the church remains uncertain as an investigation continues, Moon said.

"The roof basically fell into the church," he said.

Firefighters were able to save six stained glass windows, and a safe and filing cabinet from the pastor’s office, Moon said. A damage estimate was not available Friday afternoon.

The church is home to a "very small, elderly congregation," Moon said.

The Backhauses have lived next to the church for more than 30 years. Joanne Backhaus said some of her children went to babysitters who lived in the house attached to the church and, though they weren’t members, they were well acquainted with their "great" neighbors.

"We’ve been all through that building, but now, well, now it looks pretty sad," she said.

Backhaus said her children had come to see the damage Friday and were "shocked."

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Justin Kern can be reached at jkern@conleynet.com ; Jenny Sharp can be reached at jsharp@conleynet.com