HOUSTON -- About 100 Houston homes were without power Friday morning after a bizarre series of events that started with rain and ended with fire.

It happened in northwest Houston at Tangiers and Windfern.

Officials said the rain from Hurricane Dolly softened the ground so much in the area that a giant tree toppled onto a garage and chain-link fence, eventually hitting a gas meter.

The falling tree snapped power lines in the process, which ignited a blaze.

Firefighters at the scene worked to get the blaze under control while residents sat in the dark.

Centerpoint Energy crews were also at the scene, but they had to wait until the flames were under control before they could get to work.

They said they needed to get a backhoe to dig underneath so they could repair the gas main, and they also had to fix the power lines.

The power was restored around 7:15 a.m.

Officials said the tree had likely been in the yard for 30 to 40 years.