as for the envy people and their wealth...HA! I don't envy anyone with money cause money can't buy love or happiness and if you think it can you need a good slap of reality! Don't quote me on this but you know the saying..It's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to get into Heaven! I know that's not the exact quote but anyone who knows the Bible knows what I am trying to say! : ) I don't know the Bible that well but I know it says something close to that!

I feel badly for people who has a house fire no matter if they are rich or poor because some things you can't replace with money, however, if God's controls the weather and lightning struck the house...Steve, buddy, I think you were sent a message! Are you listening? I will pray for you guys!

wow, you people kill me.

You can turn off or change stations on a TV or Radio, Mr. Brown, but you can't turn off a house fire.

Well E LP, who is to say that the fire wasn't bad karma for subjecting the Tri-Cities to radio commercials consisting of screaming men and screaming children for the last two decades?

You all look really slick now. I'll remember this. -God

To agree with the good Dr.:
Schadenfreude will get you in trouble. In another old saying " Karma's a B***h"

Wonder how many folks on here have heard of the term libel? "A false publication, as in writing, print, signs, or pictures, that damages a person's reputation. "

To burn it down now means they possibly not only lose a sale and it sits on the market that much longer, but also lose the $ out of pocket from being self-insured.
What do they have to gain from that?

"The castle-like home had been on the market, listed at $28.5 million. The Grindstaffs were supposed to close on a sale this Thursday. "

For the accusers of insurance fraud: wouldn't be too smart to burn down a house you were closing on within a week, especially when self-insured.

Obviously some of you have never had to go through the devastation of a house fire. My family lost our home when I was a kid due to a house fire and I can tell you from experience it's nothing nice. Also, as a former member of a volunteer fire department I have seen first hand the effects of lightening causing a house fire. I have also seen others experience the devastation of losing their homes and belongings due to a house fire. So until you have experienced this type of loss you should keep your derogatory comments to yourself. The fire investigators are well trained to determine the cause of a fire. Thankfully there were no injuries or lives lost as a result of this fire. Some material things can be replaced and some can't, but a life cannot be replaced. We should all thank our local fire department members, both paid and volunteer, for the services they provide.

I do not know Mr.Grindstaff,but do know Ashley's lovely family.They are hard working,caring and professional people and do not deserve the negative comments that have surrounded this accident.The Grindstaff's have lost things they can never replace,and as far as the insurance claim...they were self insured so there goes that theory.Have a heart people...this could have been your home or the home of one of your loved ones.

Ah Elaine, I wouldnt worry myself too much about people posting opinions online.

NO, Mr. Brown, it does NOT open the Grindstaff's up to this kind of ugly talk. Their wedding and the Charter Channel have nothing to do with the fact that their living place...their home...has burned. I don't give a darn whether they are the poorest or richest people in town - they have lost their home and belongings. Insurance or no insurance, some things will never be replaced. This has to be a painful day for them, and nothing they have ever done or said made them deserving of this tragic event - or the disgusting comments that are being made here on this site. If it happened to you, can you think of something that you had done that made YOU deserve to be talked about like a dog?

Perhaps people who put their wedding on the Charter channel, as one poster said, open themselves up to some of the speculation and gossip in this comment section.

It's a tragedy that Steve Grindstaff's house was destroyed. For some it's fun to speculate about whether it was an accident or set on purpose. Grindstaff will have to endure this because he's a public figure and it comes with the territory. We should wait until the fire department conducts a through investigation of the fire before deciding what happened and shouldn't preconvict the man.

let me say one thing i was traveling home from work on hwy 394 at the time all that lightning was striking the area.toward where steves house is was getting hit hard i saw it for myself.how would steve know a lightning storm was gonna hit at that particular time and he wasnt even home when it happened. i can say from what i saw that it could very well have been caused by lightning. i dont know him personally but i bought my 06 hhr from his dealership and was treated better there than any dealership in the tri cities and yes when i get ready to trade i will go back there. my heart goes out to the grindstaffs the loss of a home that magnificent is a tradgedy.

Some people are just don't have anything better to do other than to envy people whom have made it in life financially. Sitting behind a keyboard and typing garbage like some of you have typed is goofy at best.

I thank God that nobody was hurt in the Grindstaff fire. Steve made something out of himself...he's one of the region's great success stories and my heart goes out to him and his family. I remember when they were building that house...used to ask my buddy to ride up the "Watauga" side of the lake (That's Boone Lake for those of you too busy sitting at your computers typing the ignorance that keeps you miserable) to see the progress. It was a beautiful place...I hope he's able to rebuild.

I realize how much easier it is to be insensitive, and quick to judge, and to anger on the internet but let us remember how ridiculous it is to throw stones that are remarkably slanderous against people like Witten on a website that is hosting an article unrelated to the dramatic gossip you're peddling in.
And C'mon guys, this is a 28 million dollar house that burned while on the market! Do you think an insurance company needs incessant moaning in a comments section to help them make that decision?
In the mean time I think we should just be glad that they are okay and no one was in the house to get hurt.
It is so easy to hate this family apparently. I don't understand why. Most of you people that don't like them most likely simultaneously saturated yourselves with their lives and listen to the gossip. I would imagine you guys watched their wedding on the Charter channel like six times.
The internet is supposed to be a means to conversation and coming together. When you use it has a tool to vent your anger it can turn into something totally and profoundly different. Let's stay away from that.

Persons really should refrain from these negative comments in light of the devastation caused to the Grindstaff family. Even if you did something in your past, that doesn't mean that your house burning down is a good thing. Think about how you'd feel. As I see it, some of you here don't have feelings, except for judgmental ones.

Does anybody else but me find it strange a house worth $28+ MIL that was on the market for sale in these poor times (nobody can afford to finance a $100k home let alone that much more) caught on fire & is probably a total loss? I would hope this gets investigated as it reeks of insurance fraud if you ask me.

Not far from where I live. I didn't see the fire, but the lightning and thunder was pretty strong. Go figure...thunderstorms in winter.