WESTPORT — Lightning strikes unleashed during thunderstorms sweeping across the region Tuesday afternoon kept firefighters busy — and underscored the storms’ dangers.

Lightning scored a direct hit on a large oak tree next to the halfway concession stand at Longshore Golf Course, according to a post on the Fire Department’s Facebook page.

Firefighters’ photos reveal the lightning strike caused a lengthy gash in the towering oak, which looms above the stand.

Debris from the strike shattered one of the stand’s windows, the report states.

Westport fire crews also provided assistance in New Canaan, where a lightning strike ignited a house fire on Nubel Lane about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. No injuries were reported, according to the report.

Fire officials, noting the dangers posed by thunderstorms, posted an advisory from the National Weather Service that recommends:

• Seek shelter as soon as possible.

• If unable to immediately take shelter, avoid open fields, bodies of water, trees and utility poles.

• Bottom line: “If you can see lightning or hear thunder, you’re already at risk.”