Scripps owned WFTX (Ft. Myers) was in the middle of their newscast last night when the station took a lightning hit and a power surge.

Anchors Jane Monreal and Patrick Nolan had just started the second half-hour of the news as thunderstorms were rolling through the area. The power surge caused a brief disruption in the station's signal, which could be seen by viewers who were tuning in at the time.

Not long after that, employees reported smelling, then seeing smoke in the control room.

The order to evacuate was given, and WFTX went dark for a few minutes before alternate programming could be run in place of the newscast.

Station management and engineers are working to determine if we'll be able to resume newscasts from the main studio or if operations will move to a secondary studio.

H/T WFTX