Quoted from PinFan4Life:I don't unplug them at all...too much trouble and really no benefit to me. I have all of my pins on surge protectors, which should stop power surges and not allow any damage to the pins. If your house takes a direct lightning strike, your pins will be the least of your worries....there will likely be no house left after the fire anyway.
Not so. As an electrician, I have gone to many houses over the years to do estimates of damages, and help with insurance write ups after a lightning strike. I honestly can't recall the last time a house actually burnt down around here due to a strike. It'll go in and burn a path of appliance destruction and then leave through the ground rods, water main, or re-bar electrode in the footing, but the house is fine.
I've actually seen burn marks on the face of the drywall where the lightning has followed the romex, but the house itself was fine because the voltage eventually dissipated. Even crazy hits like this many times produce no fire, just wiring damage. A more indirect hit usually does little more than knock out a few appliances on it's way through.
As many have said though, those surge arrestors/suppressors are pretty worthless...so is turning off your breakers. The only real way to save something from getting damaged/destroyed is unplugging it ( ....assuming your place doesn't actually end up burning down). 
