Newly-built Dallas mansion is badly-damaged by lightning strike just DAYS after people started to move into the new neighborhood

Gone in a flash!

Residents in a new Texas neighborhood got quite the shock this week when they saw a home go up in flames just as families started to move in. 

A home in the Pecan Square neighborhood was hit by lighting and lit on fire as thunderstorms rolled through the Dallas-Fort Worth area. 

Cathy Lopez had moved into the development four days ago and snapped pictures of the stunning Monday scene as lighting cracked around the home on fire.  

'Just flames got bigger and bigger while we sat there and watched and the lightning was still going so I was really worried about the fire department being safe,' she told NBC DFW.

A home in the Pecan Square neighborhood was hit by lighting and lit on fire as thunderstorms rolled through the Dallas-Fort Worth area

The newly built mansion in Northlake, Texas, had its roof cave in as a result of the fire. It's unclear who owns the property. 

Lopez and her husband are one of the first people to move into the new neighborhood and were the only ones who watched the mansion burn. When the blaze started, he ran to Cathy to inform her of the situation. 

'He just came running in and said you've got to come out here right now and see what's going on. Out our back patio we can see the flames coming out of the top of the roof.

After the fire department arrived, the pair drove over to the mansion to see the damage up close and document the damage. 

'Forty pictures were nothing and then all of a sudden I was like, 'Oh, I got a really good picture of lightning here with the fire in the background,' said Lopez. 

'I'm sad for them [owners]. I'm glad they weren't there but you know waking up who knows how close they were to moving.'

Cathy Lopez had moved into the development four days ago and snapped pictures of the stunning scene as lighting cracked around the home on fire 

'I'm sad for them [owners]. I'm glad they weren't there but you know waking up who knows how close they were to moving,' Lopez said 

 'It's very scary,' Lopez added. 'You know, we're glad that we have a place to stay that we are inside where you know, you hope that you're safe. We're just really thankful that no one was in the house. You know that God protected those people that they haven't moved in yet. So it is scary, but it was also beautiful too.'

The development is new and there aren't many trees in the area, which could attract the lightning instead of the rooftops. 

'So there's been some talk about, you know, should we do something different and new neighborhoods like this where there aren't any big trees or any, you know, trees to speak of whatsoever, then that danger is just heightened,' she said. 

Monday's storms caused damage throughout the area, including in Keller, Justin and Northlake in Denton County. 

The development is new and there aren't many trees in the area, which could attract the lightning instead of the rooftops 

Another resident in the Erath County town of Dublin, located about 80 miles southwest of Fort Worth reported roof damage after the Tuesday storm. 

Leah Allen told Fox4 that the roof of her house was torn off at around 11.24pm. 

She said that the house shook during the storm and pieces of her metal roof ended up scattered 50 to 100 yards away. 

Cases of severe damage are also being reported from the Denton County city of Krum.