YOUNGSTOWN - Ambitious plans by the Mahoning County OVI Task Force to hold two sobriety checkpoints in Youngstown late Friday were dashed by lightning and fire.

The Task Force announced late Friday that it planned to conduct a Westside checkpoint from 11 p.m. until midnight on Mahoning Avenue, and a second Southside checkpoint from 12:30 a.m. to 3 a.m. Saturday on Playhouse Lane.

According to a news release from the Task Force, the Mahoning Avenue checkpoint had to be delayed for an hour because of lightning strikes in the area.

The second checkpoint didn’t happen because a large fire broke out in a vacant home on nearby West Glenaven Avenue and officials were concerned about the safety of officers and citizens.