For the fifth time in less than a week, lightning has struck an area home, sending residents scrambling to safety.

Officials say a lightning bolt hit a pole and traveled down a wire attached to a Scarsdale home on Sprain Valley Road around 4 p.m. Sunday. According to homeowner Toniann McKillop, she felt the power of the strike on her head and her husband's fingers were singed."You couldn't believe the power of it," McKillop says. "It affected our cable lines, phone lines, TVs." She's just thankful that her family wasn't seriously harmed.

Last Wednesday, lightning bolts struck Chestnut Ridge, Stony Point and Hartsdale homes, sparking fires. On Sunday morning, lightning struck a Chappaqua home.The incident marks the fifth time since last Wednesday that lightning has struck a Westchester or Hudson Valley home.

While lightning strikes are hard to predict, officials say there are a few things homeowners can do to protect themselves.

"It's an act of God," says Hartsdale Fire Department Capt. Ed Rush. "The best thing to do is to keep your house properly grounded."

Some people install a lightning rod that is attached to a grounded wire on their property. That way, the lightning doesn't hit their home.