Home HVAC blower problem

So, lightning struck very near my house twice in some storms last week. My neighbor's sprinkler system controller was taken out. I had random breakers tripped in my house. Things affected were my garage door opener mounted on the wall and the fuse to the HVAC blower popped. Unfortunately no char marks to prove anything to the insurance company.

After I found the blown fuse (3A), I didn't have another one. So just to test I replaced with a 5A fuse. The motor turned on for a second then the fuse popped. Thing is though, the switch on the thermostat to turn the fan on was OFF. Its too late for me to start diagnosing tonight, but wondered if anyone out there in the GRM hive had any ideas?

TIA!!!

Your HVAC tech can convince the Insurance company that the unit was struck if that is the case. It happens all the time. I grew up doing Heat & Air.

It may not be the same, but I had a similar problem several years ago. After a storm, the fuse in my furnace was blown. It turned out that the contactor in the outdoor unit had fried.