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| Identifying the evidence of lightning strikes |
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| The long, vertical sears on a tree are indicative of a bolt from the sky |
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 | | Scott Staats CENTRAL OREGONIAN | | Cracks like this one, indicate that the tree was once struck by a bolt of lightning. |
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While hiking the other day, I came across a tree that had obviously been struck by lightning. The tree, a large ponderosa pine, had three or four large cracks from top to bottom and large sections of thick bark blown away.
That brought back memories of a lightning strike I witnessed about 10 years ago in the Ochocos. I watched a bolt hit a tree less than 100 feet away, sending a fluorescent pink flame ripping down the tree and shreds of bark flying in all directions.
If you look around the forest for tall trees or those in the open or on high points, you'll find a few that have been hit by lightning. Looking closer at large snags, you may also see some cracks running down them from ancient strikes.
A bolt of lightning can travel as fast as 100,000 mph and reach temperatures nearing 60,000 degrees F (hot enough to fuse soil or sand into glass). Mount Thielsen, just north of Crater Lake, is known as "The Lightning Rod of the Cascades" and has been struck so many times by lightning that there are fulgurites at the summit, which are natural glasses formed when lightning strikes bare rock or sand.
Since electricity seeks the path of least resistance, and moisture in the form of water and sap inside a tree is a better conductor than air, trees are the preferred path for lightning to reach the ground (Unfortunately, humans also fall into this category).
Some trees can sustain a direct hit by lightning and receive no damage while others can receive moderate damage or even end up dying. |
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